I am pleased to be able to inform the House that on 16 September 2024, the Government and the British Medical Association’s Resident Doctors Committee (BMA RDC), formerly known as the BMA Junior Doctors Committee, agreed a deal on pay for resident doctors—this includes those previously referred to as doctors and dentists in training. This follows BMA RDC agreeing to put the offer to its members.
We will now move to implement the deal, putting an end to strikes which have had a catastrophic impact not just on the country’s economy—with NHS strikes costing the taxpayer almost £1.7 billion in the 2023-24 financial year—but to patients and the nation’s health, with over 1.5 million appointments cancelled.
Resident doctors are a vital part of our NHS and go on to become the consultants and GPs we need tomorrow. This deal is the first step in rebuilding trust between the Government and the profession. This is a Government that cares for those who care for others.
In the deal, resident doctors will receive:
an average investment of 4.05% into 2023-24 pay scales effective from 1 April 2023 with a payment to reflect backpay. This is on top of the average 8.8% uplift they have already received for 2023-24; and
a further consolidated uplift of 6% plus £1,000 in 2024-25, in line with the recommendations of the Review Body on Doctors and Dentists Remuneration (DDRB).
This deal will increase the base salary for a full-time doctor starting foundation training in the NHS to over £36,600 compared to around £32,400 before this deal. A full-time doctor entering specialty training will see their basic pay rise to over £49,900 from around £43,900 before this deal. On average, resident doctors earn around one third additional to their base salary in overtime and out-of-hours payments.
As agreed in the deal, we have now instructed the DDRB to consider, as part of its pay recommendations, the overall reward package and a career progression for resident doctors to ensure that medicine is an attractive and rewarding career choice to deliver our consultants and GPs of the future.
The Government have also committed to improve the current exception reporting process and to work in partnership with the BMA RDC and other health organisations to review the current system of training and rotational placements.
The BMA RDC will withdraw the rate card for doctors and dentists in training in England with immediate effect.
The Government recognise the significant challenges that affect resident doctors. While this deal has agreed to review parts of the training system, we are also committed to addressing challenges, for example through initiatives under NHS England’s Working Lives programme, to improve the working and learning experience of resident doctors in the NHS. We continue to encourage local employers to engage with these policies to address these issues better locally.
This deal marks a significant step forward in fixing the NHS, rebuilding a relationship of trust with doctors and delivering better patient care.
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