This page contains a summary of the key recommendations of the Doctors' and Dentists Review Body and the key comments by the NHS Employers' pay and negotiations team.
Key recommendations
Consultants
- £1,000 cash amount per annum be added to each point in the pay scale
- Clinical excellence awards, commitment awards, distinction awards and discretionary awards should remain at their 2006/07 rates
- The budget for higher clinical excellence awards should be increased in line with the increase in the number of consultants eligible for an award, estimated by the Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards (ACCEA) at 1.5 per cent
- ACCEA to continue to determine the number of clinical excellence awards to be made at each level in 2007-08
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Staff and associate specialist group of doctors
- £1,000 cash amount per annum be added to each point in the pay scale
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Doctors and dentists in training
- £650 cash amount per annum be added to each point in the pay scale. When multiplied by the average banding multiplier of 1.56, this would mean on average each doctor would receive an increase of around £1,000
- The banding for GP Registrars to be reduced to 55 per cent
- The percentage values of the banding multipliers for doctors and dentists in training to remain at their current rate
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London Weighting
- To remain at its existing level
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Collaborative fees and allowances
- Doctors engaged in sessional work for community health services and work under the collaborative arrangements should continue to set their own fees
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Other fees and allowances
- To be increased by 2 per cent
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Salaried general medical practitioners
- The top and bottom points of the salary range for salaried general medical practitioners, employed by primary care organisations, be increased by £1,000
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General medical practitioners
- 0 per cent increase in pay
- Trainers' grant to increase by 2 per cent
- General Medical Practitioner educators' pay scales to be uplifted by 2 per cent
- Seniority payments to remain at their current level
main conclusions
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Economic and general
The review body drew the following conclusions:
- There were no significant problems with recruitment, retention or motivation
- They recognised the Government's concern that a high award could lead to increased inflation
- The NHS faces serious funding constraints
- Incremental scales mean that staff will on average receive an earnings increase well above the level of the annual uplift
- There was no recruitment and retention issue in London so there were no grounds to increase the rate of London Weighting
- The amount junior doctors were earning was reducing as hours and intensity reduced. This might lead to recruitment and retention problems in the future
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General medical practitioners
- There has been a strong growth in the number of general medical practitioners
- Morale and motivation was generally high except for general medical practitioners working in community hospitals
- The average supplement paid to hospital doctors in England was 56 per cent and there was no recruitment problem to general medical practitioner registrar training
- The remuneration of general medical practitioners working in Community Hospitals should continue to be determined locally but the review body urged the Health Departments to monitor possible difficulties in community hospitals due to funding issues
- General medical practitioners had not been provided with any evidence that would allow them to determine the level of fees and allowances for work carried out under the collaborative arrangements
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Doctors and dentists in hospital training
- There was no recruitment and retention problem
- Student debt would only come under the remit of the review body if it had a detrimental impact on recruitment and retention
- The review body stated that as hours reduced it would be appropriate to shift the balance from the banding multiplier towards base pay so that junior doctors starting salaries did not fall behind comparator graduate professions
- The review body asked to be kept informed on the situation with pay protection
- The review body did not express a view on the situation for flexible trainees and accommodation for doctors in their pre-registration year
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Consultants
- The review body said that the rates of pay for consultants compared favourably with similar professions
- The number of consultants had increased
- The review body noted that the number of programmed activities were being reduced and this should reflect a reduction in workload
- The review body were awaiting the results of the review of the clinical excellence awards scheme with interest
- The review body disagreed with the BMA's request to reinstate the responsibility allowance for medical managers as there was adequate flexibility in the new consultant contract to allow for this extra responsibility to be remunerated
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Staff and associate specialist group of doctors
- The review body said that as there was uncertainty over the actual number of this group of doctors it was difficult to reach a firm conclusion on recruitment and retention
- The review body hoped that the new contract would provide benefits for all parties and would follow progress on the negotiations closely
