Exclusive Half of general practice nursing staff across the UK have reported they have not yet received a pay rise for 2024/25, a Nursing in Practice survey has revealed.
Of those who have received an uplift this year, only around one in six (16%) were awarded the 6% recommended by the government in England.
Our survey of more than 550 nursing staff working in GP practices – including general practice nurses (GPNs), advanced nurse practitioners, nursing associates and others – has added weight to ongoing concerns over poor pay and conditions.
GPNs told us they continued to feel ‘undervalued’ and that their pay had ‘fallen behind’ colleagues working in secondary care.
Nursing in Practice’s survey on pay and salaries received 552 responses from general practice nursing staff – the majority of which (468) are based in England.
It found that:
- A significant 50% of respondents said they had not yet received a pay increase for the 2024/25 financial year.
- 45% reported they had been awarded a pay increase.
- Of those that did get a pay rise, a majority of 73% reported receiving below 6%.
- A third (32.5%) of those that did receive a pay rise received an increase of 2% or less and almost half (45%) received a rise of 3% or less.
These findings are despite the government in England promising a 6% pay rise for GPs and other salaried practice staff, including nursing staff – and providing an extra £311m to help surgeries cover the extra cost.
In August, NHS England also made clear that it ‘firmly expected’ GP partners to use the income boost to fund a pay rise for practice staff in full, backdated to April 1.
With the extra money due to be paid to practices via the global sum in September, some nursing staff responding to our survey said they were still expecting a pay rise later in the year, once it had been confirmed the funding had come in.
However, last year saw many practice nurses miss out on the full 6% pay rise that had also been promised for 2023/24, because of funding issues.
It has been argued in the past that because of the complex funding system in place in general practice, some practices may receive enough to pass on a full 6% salary uplift, while others will not.
‘I am worse off than I have ever been’
Comments from GPNs responding to our survey reflected frustration and disappointment when it comes to their pay.
One practice nurse said: ‘I have been nursing for over 45 years, and I have never felt so undervalued as I do now. I have not received a pay rise for over two years, so I am worse off than I have ever been.’
Another added: ‘I love the team and the practice I work with, however, it makes me seriously think about not continuing working in this role anymore because of the insufficient pay.
‘It makes me sad to think I potentially can’t do the job I truly love because I am having to consider finding [a] different occupation that would pay me and value me for my work.’
One advanced nurse practitioner said they had been told their practice was ‘intending’ to give the 6% rise. They added: ‘We have not seen an uplift in our general pay for a few years, so have fallen behind nurses in secondary care.’
And worryingly, one nurse team lead reported having been told that ‘only salaried GPs will receive a pay rise’ this year.
‘Unacceptable that so many GPNs have not received a rise’
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) national officer Jeni Watts said: ‘The reality is that general nursing practice staff are fundamentally undervalued.
‘It’s unacceptable that so many of them have not yet received the pay rises they are owed, not only for this year but also for 2023/34.
‘Practices are receiving funding targeted to deliver pay rises and we expected it to be implemented fully for nursing staff.’
Last week, the RCN issued a new template letter than GPNs can use to send to their GP practices to seek clarification on pay rises for 2024/25.
Ms Watts added: ‘Every general practice nurse is entitled to the pay uplift and employers need to expedite it.
‘RCN members are well within their rights to demand the pay they were promised.’
‘Disappointing but not unexpected’
Sandra Dyer, an advanced nurse practitioner with a background in primary care, said the figures from our survey were ‘very disappointing but not unexpected’.
She told Nursing in Practice she believed the pay mechanism for practice nurse pay was ‘long overdue’ and that a ‘funded minimum contract for GPNs and other primary care staff is essential’.
Meanwhile, Dr Helen Anderson, research fellow at the University of York, and previously a GPN and advanced nurse practitioner, said our findings reflect a current study she was working on which explores the retention of nurses in general practice.
‘The majority of nurses in our study reported that they did not get any or the full uplift, or it had not been discussed with them, or the decision had been pushed down the line to a later date,’ she said.
‘As a result, participants felt employers actively did not want to pay them what they were worth, and this directly influenced their intention to quit.’
These are interim findings with more detailed data to be published in a full report produced with our sister title Management in Practice in early 2025.
This survey was open from 20 September until 18 October 2024, collating responses using the SurveyMonkey tool. A total of 552 general practice nursing staff responded to these questions from across the UK, with the majority within England. The survey was advertised to our readers via our website and email newsletter, with a prize draw for £100 vouchers as an incentive to complete the survey. The survey was unweighted, and we do not claim this to be scientific – only a snapshot.
