How much are NHS consultants paid? How does it compare to other health service staff? Salary earning explained amid strikes

• NHS consultants today downed tools for 48-hours in an ongoing dispute on pay
• READ MORE: Striking NHS medics are among top earning doctors in the world

Senior NHS medics have taken to the picket line again today, in their latest attempt to pressure ministers into increasing their six-figure salaries even further.

Fresh analysis suggests NHS consultants in England are in the top 2 per cent of earners in the UK and are also among the most financially rewarded in the profession globally. 

The latest strike action, a 48 hour walkout predicted to tip the number of NHS appointments cancelled by staff strikes to 1million, comes despite the medics already receiving a 6 per cent pay rise from Government.  

Here, MailOnline has set out just how much the senior medics make and how their earnings compare to other NHS staff.

NHS consultants who regularly earn six-figure salaries took to the picket lines today in their latest action to demand a pay rise. Pictured: Senior medics protesting outside of University College London

Consultants

Senior medics’ basic pay is now between £93,666 and £126,281 a year depending on experience, following a recent 6 per cent pay increase.

However, consultants can boost this sum by taking on extra shifts, lucrative private work and being granted awards. 

For example, the average annual basic pay per full-time consultant in the year to March 2023 was £105,484. However, their average earnings was actually £127,000 due to topping the figure up through extra work. 

Health chiefs say the average consultant will now take home £134,000 a year following their 6 per cent pay uplift. 

On top of this huge sum — which puts them in the top two per cent of UK earners and makes them one of the best paid senior doctors in the world — they will also be able to retire at 65 and earn an annual pension of £78,000 for the rest of their life.

Junior doctors

Doctors in training are now paid up to £63,152 a year as they go through their training— which lasts around five to 10 years.

The figure depends on experience, with first year medics making £32,397.

Their pay has increased between 8.1 and 10.3 per cent this year.

However, like consultants, they can top up their earnings through doing extra shifts.

For example, in the year to March 2023, when first year junior doctors’ salary was £29,243, on average, their average earnings was actually £37,071. 

Junior medics are also in a separate pay dispute with No10 and are pictured here on strike earlier this month 

Nurses, midwives, and paramedics 

NHS pay for nursing and midwifery and paramedic professionals is set under a contract system called Agenda for Change (AfC).

Staff under this system received a pay rise of about 5 per cent this year, worth about an extra £1,065.

Newly qualified nurses, midwives, and paramedics in the NHS typically start on a minimum of £28,407 per year. 

Including overtime, nurses across all experience levels earned an average of £37,000 in the year to March 2023.

For midwives, this figure was £36,000 and for ambulance staff (which includes paramedics) it was £47,000.

Like other staff groups, this will increase this year with the new pay rises taking effect. 

The Royal College of Nursing also held multiple  strikes over pay with this action taking place outside St Thomas’ Hospital in  London in May this year

More than 700,000 NHS appointments have been cancelled since strikes began seven months ago. In the latest five-day walkout by junior doctors, more than 100,000 were called off

Hospital porters and cleaners

Like nurses, midwives and paramedics, hospital porters and cleaners are paid on the AfC contract but are on a lower pay point. 

Porters and cleaners start on a £22,383 annual salary under the new pay deal.

NHS data does not include a break-down of these staff groups’ overall earnings that incorporates additional pay like overtime.

READ MORE: Revealed: Striking NHS consultants on £134,000-a-year are among top earning doctors in the world, analysis shows 

Analysis by the Nuffield trust found NHS consultants in England were among the top earners in the profession globally

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