Some primary care nurses could be ‘denied’ pay rise they were promised in July

In July, the government announced general practice staff (including primary care nurses) would receive a backdated pay rise of 6% to April 2023, but thousands of nurses are still yet to receive their pay award.

The Royal College of Nursing and the BMA General Practitioners Committee are now concerned that some nurses will never receive the rise due to funding issues at some practices.

The RCN has now written to Neil O’Brien, the Minister for Primary Care, with a clear message that this is not acceptable.

The College has also issued a joint statement with the BMA General Practitioners Committee to emphasise the importance of providing the pay award to all staff without further delay.

Why are some primary care nurses at risk of not getting a 6% pay uplift?

The pay awards are being paid for by an increase in the Global Sum – a formula which allocates funding per patient for each individual practice based on age/sex/additional needs/list turnover/staff market forces and rurality.

This formula leads to some inequity amongst GP practices, with some not receiving enough additional funding to cover an entire 6% uplift for all salaried staff members, whereas others will in fact get more than they need to do so.

To combat this, the RCN is calling on the government to confirm the status of nursing pay in general practice in England for this financial year, and to commit to additional funding if nursing staff are left without at least a 6% pay rise.

The RCN is also asking the government to give clarity on what guidance has been issued to general practices to ensure staff receive their pay rise fairly and swiftly.

Failing to award primary care nurses with a pay rise could do “untold damage”

In her letter to Neil O’Brien, Minister for Primary Care, Royal College of Nursing Director for England, Patricia Marquis, said: ““Nursing staff in general practice provide vital primary care to their local communities and are the bedrock of the services available in general practice surgeries.

“There is already clear disparity between employment terms of nursing staff working in general practice compared to other parts of the NHS. Now, their pay rise is months late, and for many the money promised could be missing.

“Our members working in general practice play a critical role in preventative care, early detection and addressing the backlog in primary care services. They already feel undervalued, and uncertainty over whether they will receive a pay uplift which your department made clear they are entitled to but may never come, will only compound this.”

The NHS Confederation has supported the RCN’s calls, and says if the government is “serious about improving access to general practice” then it must “reward general practice nurses fairly.”

Ruth Rankine, director of the NHS Confederation’s primary care network, said if primary care providers continue to be unable to afford this salary increase, it is “likely to do untold damage to the ability of primary care providers to recruit and retain their nursing staff.”

“This could then have a domino effect on the range of services they can provide for their patients, including extended opening hours and vaccination clinics, inevitably leading to even more pressures across hospitals and other parts of the NHS,” she said.