24.09.14
NHS management pay increases outstrip frontline staff rises
Locum hospital practitioners, clinical assistant doctors and senior managers in the NHS were among the staff groups who got the largest percentage pay increases in the last year, while frontline staff had to make do with pay rises of less than 1%, new figures have revealed.
Looking at mean full-time equivalent (FTE) salaries over the last year, the largest annual increase of 4.4% went to locum hospital practitioners and clinical assistant doctors, taking their mean pay up to £62,895.
Health visitors, by contrast, saw a cut in their pay of 0.7% on average, taking their mean pay to £34,038.
Senior NHS managers, who were included in the ‘infrastructure support staff’ section, received a percentage increase in 2013 of 3% (to £78,064) while hotel, property and estates staff received rises worth an average 0.5% (to £17,266).
Qualified nurses, including midwives and health visitors, earned on average £30,761, a 0.5% increase on 2013. Within this staff group, school nurses saw the largest percentage increase on 2013 at 1.2% (to £33,004).
The HSCIC’s latest report, covering the 12 months to June 2014, looks at the earnings of 1.16 million staff working in NHS hospital and community health services in England – excluding GP surgeries.
Responding to the figures, Dr Peter Carter, chief executive and secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “These figures highlight yet another year of real-terms pay cuts for hardworking nurses. The 0.5% increase does not mean all nurses received this, and could be due to more nurses reaching the top increment of the NHS pay scales by gaining more skills and experience.
“It adds insult to injury that senior managers have seen their pay increase by six times this amount. While the highest paid are being protected from rising living costs, frontline staff are being left to suffer- these are seriously warped priorities. Many staff will rightly be wondering if their vital work is valued by the government at all.”
Doctors, including consultants and registrars, but excluding locums and GPs, earned on average £59,051, a 0.4% increase on 2013. Within this staff group, ‘other medical and dental staff' saw the largest percentage increase on 2013 at 1.6% (to £64,161) while ‘other doctors in training’ saw a drop of 0.2% (to £26,007).
Dr Mark Porter, chair of BMA Council, told NHE that the figures show year-on-year pay freezes, and below-inflation pay rises, meaning the vast majority of doctors have seen their pay fall in real-terms in recent years, with doctors in training being especially hit.
“This is because billions of pounds of so-called NHS efficiency savings have in fact come from chipping away at staff income,” he said. “This comes at a time when front-line staff are working harder than ever to meet rising demand, leaving many demoralised.”
Dr Porter stated that while the BMA understands the economic constraints the NHS faces, the continued erosion of pay undermines the excellent work and dedication to patient care from doctors and other NHS staff, and serves to highlight the government’s failure to find a meaningful and sustainable solution to the funding crisis facing the health service.
HSCIC’s figures also revealed, for the first time, figures on bonuses and performance related pay. It shows that over the 12 months to the end of February 2014, 87 managers and senior managers across the NHS in England are recorded as having received such a payment and the total paid was £399,131.
In defence of the current pay structure, a health department spokesperson said: “NHS staff are our greatest asset and we know they are working extremely hard. This is why despite tough financial times, we've protected the NHS budget and last year awarded all NHS employed staff a 1% consolidated pay rise.
“The HSCIC statistics do not reflect the take-home pay of individual staff.”
Tell us what you think – have your say below or email [email protected]