HEALTH Secretary and Farnham MP Jeremy Hunt has approved a one per cent pay rise for doctors in England in 2017/18.

Mr Hunt stated that he accepted the recommendation from the doctors and dentists review body (DDRB) to increase pay for salaried doctors in the NHS by one per cent.

The DDRB report warned that general practice in the UK faces a “serious situation”, adding it was “unclear” how GP services can be delivered five to 10 years from now given the growing workforce crisis facing the profession.

It also stated that there are “signs of a clear trend” towards salaried employment and away from the ‘contractor-partner model’ which highlights the changing nature of the GP workforce.

It said it would be closely monitoring salaried GPs because there could be “implications for the future planning and delivery of primary care”.

Responding, the British Medical Association (BMA) described the one per cent pay rise as a “bitter blow”, commenting that doctors faced a real term pay cut due to the pay deal driving up pressure on the NHS by increasing hospital rota gaps, consultant vacancies and GP practice closures.

It comes on the back of more than three years of negotiations with the BMA over a new junior doctors’ contract, imposed last October, and several days of damaging strike action.