‘Unacceptable’ that thousands of practice nurses are ‘left waiting’ for pay rise

It is ‘unacceptable’ that thousands of general practice nurses (GPNs) have been ‘left waiting’ for pay increases in recent years, the president of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said.

Bejoy Sebastian, a senior nurse, is campaigning for nursing voices to be included in general practice pay negations and for ringfenced funding.

This comes after the government confirmed salaried GPNs in England would be entitled to a 3.5% pay rise for 2026/27 – following recommendations from the independent pay review body for GPs, the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ (DDRB).

NHS England also recently said it ‘expects’ GP practices to pass on the 3.5% pay rise to nurses and other salaried staff.

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However, Mr Sebastian reiterated in a recent RCN blog post that the ‘final decision rests with employers’.

He added it is ‘unacceptable’ that ‘thousands of nursing staff have been left waiting for pay increases from previous years’.

It is typically down to GP practices to pass on pay rises to practice staff following an uplift to the pay element of the GP contract.

However, surveys by Nursing in Practice have shown in recent years that many GPNs miss out on annual uplifts, because funding for their pay and conditions is not ringfenced in the same way that it is for GPs.

‘We expect that pay uplift to be passed on to nursing staff employed by general practice, but that the final decision rests with employers,’ said Mr Sebastian.

‘We’re continuing to campaign for nursing voices to be included in general practice negotiations and for ringfenced funding so nursing staff working in general practice receive the pay they deserve.

‘I encourage all our GPN members to join upcoming events to hear more and get involved.’

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The RCN has long been campaigning for the need for ‘stronger advocacy’ for nurses in general practice, particularly in terms of pay.

It has previously written to primary care minister Stephen Kinnock about the need to give the college a seat on negotiations for the 2026/27 General Medical Services (GMS) contract.

The global sum for GP practices in England has increased from £123.34 to £130.07 per patient from 1 April 2026.

In a Primary Care Bulletin earlier this month, NHS England said: ‘The increase to practice funding enables the 3.5% pay uplift to be passed on to salaried and contractor GPs and pay uplifts for other practice staff.

‘NHS England expects general practice contractors to implement pay rises to other practice staff in line with the uplift in funding they are receiving.’

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Mr Sebastian, who is based in critical care at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, added that the Welsh Government has also confirmed a 3.5% for general practice staff in Wales and the same uplift is expected for staff in Scotland.

However, in Northern Ireland no pay award has been announced for general practice nursing staff.