NHS pay award 2025 to 2026 for consultants, speciality doctors, specialists, GPs and dentists
Published 22 May 2025
Applies to England
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-pay-awards-2025-to-2026-doctors-and-dentists/nhs-pay-award-2025-to-2026-for-consultants-speciality-doctors-specialists-gps-and-dentists
Our medical and dental professionals are essential to delivering high quality patient care and leading our health service. You bring expertise, experience and leadership that are invaluable to the NHS.
We inherited a broken health service with extremely low morale after years of pay erosion and poor industrial relations. Despite the difficult financial situation facing the country, we are funding a pay rise of 4% for consultants, specialty doctors, specialists and GPs, with dentists also receiving a contract uplift to increase their pay.
This follows last year’s pay awards and represents our commitment to recognising your contribution and expertise. These back-to-back above-inflation increases are a clear demonstration that this government values your work and is determined to restore respect for healthcare professionals.
Getting your money faster
It’s only right that you should get this money quickly:
- you’ll see the increase in your pay packets from August - 2 months earlier than last year
- pay uplifts will be backdated to 1 April 2025
- we’re committing to getting pay rises to you even more quickly in future years. We will start next year’s pay round in July this year, with an ambition to implement next year’s pay rise as soon as possible in 2026 to 2027
Improving your working conditions
Beyond pay, our Plan for Change aims to make the NHS a better place to work:
- for dentists, we’re reforming the dental contract, with a focus on prevention and retention of NHS dentists
- for GPs, we’re working to reduce box-ticking and red tape, and improve work-life balance
- for consultants and specialists, we’re implementing measures to strengthen clinical leadership
Working together to rebuild our NHS
Together, we’ve already cut waiting lists by more than 200,000 since July 2024 and delivered 3.5 million more appointments. We’ve hired more than 1,700 GPs, provided the biggest boost to GP funding in years - an extra £889 million on top of the existing budget for general practice in 2025 to 2026 - and we’re delivering an extra 700,000 emergency dentistry appointments to help those who need it most. This progress is just the beginning.
We cannot build an NHS fit for the future without your expertise and commitment. This government was never going to be able to fully reverse a decade and a half of neglect overnight, but this year’s pay award represents significant progress in making sure you’re properly recognised.
These thoroughly deserved pay rises are another indication of how we want to work with you in our shared ambition to rebuild the NHS. I urge all staff organisations to accept these above inflation increases, so we can take the next steps together in rebuilding the broken NHS we inherited.
Thank you for your extraordinary commitment to the NHS.
Wes Streeting
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care