DDRB award announcement 2024
Following the 2024 DDRB announcement, please find info that has been shared by GPCE. If you have any further queries please feel free to contact the LMC office.
The DDRB have published their 52nd Report . Paragraph 9 recommends a 6% increase in remuneration for salaried and contractor GPs (equating to an additional 4% above the 2% already included in the funding for 2024/25). This has been accepted by NHSE and DHSC . In addition it has been agreed that the same increase will be extended to all practice staff (clinical and non-clinical) to include “practice nurses, reception, management and other practice staff” backdated to 1 April 2024.
The devil as usual will be in the detail. As I see it there are four factors which could affect whether a practice will have sufficient funding to be able to pass on the full increase and retain sufficient to afford partners the same 6% increase:
Whether the amount includes all oncosts (pension, NI etc)
Whether the calculation is based on accurate figures (last year the amount was calculated using the assumption that practices spend 44% of their budget on staff, which the GPCE believes is an underestimate).
That as the money is added to the global sum it is subjected to the Carr-Hill formula.
That the amount will be based on the average spend, adversely affecting practices who have invested a higher-than-average amount of their practice funding on staff.
The GPCE are discussing the practicalities of calculating and distributing the funding with NHSE. However, assuming 1) and 2) above are done correctly, due to 3) and 4) approximately half practices will receive more funding that the actual cost, and half less.
Although the LMC hopes that all practices will be able to pass on the additional 4%, each practice will need to make its own decision taking into account your individual financial position. Once we have been informed of the increase in the Global Sum, if there is a significant gap between the amount received and the cost of providing the additional 4% to all staff and partners, I would be grateful if you could provide the details to the LMC office so we can share with GPCE to aid future negotiations.
I also note an interesting snippet in paragraph 4.99 of the DDRB report, which reports their concern that there is an ‘emerging possibility’ that if the current situation is not improved practices may start registering private patients resulting in the same problems that currently affect dentistry. This is a risk that LLR LMC has been raising for the past few years so it is interesting that the DDRB have reached the same conclusion.
Thank you to you all for maintaining an excellent service for patients despite NHSE and DHSC policy and previous actions. The current Secretary of State is saying some positive things, but we need actions rather than words, and I am concerned that NHSE ethos may be harder for him to alter. Please continue to look after yourselves and your teams.
DDRB award announcement - GPC England update
The Government has announced its response to the DDRB recommendations for doctors’ pay in England. A 6% uplift has been announced for GP contractors and salaried GPs. This is inclusive of the previous 1.9% awarded via the contract imposition earlier this year, ie the award supplements an additional 4.1% on top of the existing 1.9%.
Back in May, the previous government alluded to its commitment to accept the DDRB recommendation, which GPC England advised would be ‘a disaster for the profession’. The profession is aware this is not enough to address the erosion of funding for general practice as shown through the campaign. Referring to the swingometer from our May newsletter, it was highlighted that an uplift of 10.7% was required to restore real-terms funding to 2018/19 levels.
While the news that the chancellor has agreed to the DDRB recommendation in full is to be welcomed, the announcement will not pause the closures of GP surgeries, reduce the inexorable workload transfer onto general practice from all parts of the wider system, and will not get thousands of under-employed GPs into practice roles.
We appreciate that the new government is inheriting a broken NHS, as the new health secretary has said himself, and especially general practice. We also heard today from the chancellor how the public finances are in disarray. We have been heartened by the new secretary of state’s words in each meeting we have had with him but our profession needs more than words.
Later this week, we anticipate the result of our non-statutory ballot from Civica following our campaign through the ballot for GPs to take action: Protect your Practice, Protect your patients. The voting window closed at 12pm, Monday, and we are so grateful to the thousands of GPs and practice teams who logged onto the webinars, travelled to the roadshows, downloaded resources and who have ordered support materials. You can continue to access practice resources and download our patient-facing materials, including videos, slides and posters for your webpages, social media channels and practices.
Whatever the result later this week, it is clear that as a GP profession we have never been more united, by our desire to protect our patients, our practices and our futures. As we begin to see other branches of practice start their journeys towards pay restoration, we now need to prepare to embark on our own.
Remember, the ballot for GP partners may be closed but the offer for three months’ free BMA membership is still open until 17 August. This year we have seen over 4,500 GPs join the BMA. Thank you for your support – please spread the word as we will be stronger together in the difficult times ahead, but we have got your back.