GP practices in Wales will be asked by the Welsh Government to confirm that any agreed pay uplift has been passed on to general practice nurses (GPNs).
It comes as the Welsh Government has accepted a 4% pay uplift for GPs for 2025/26, as per the recommendations of the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration.
The Welsh Government is expected to enter negotiations for the 2025/26 GP contact over the summer.
Subject to these negotiations, any agreed uplift for staff pay will apply to all general practice staff, including practice nurses employed by a GP practice, the Welsh Government confirmed to Nursing in Practice.
Related Article: School nurses could offer ‘key support’ for neurodiverse pupils if funded correctly
GP practices will also be asked to confirm they have passed on the agreed uplift to all their general practice staff, the Welsh Government said.
In a statement last week, cabinet secretary for health and social care in Wales, Jeremy Miles, said while falling outside of the DDRB, he wanted to see ‘a fair and proportionate pay uplift across primary care, including community pharmacies, NHS optometry and all staff working in general practice and dental teams’.
‘This is in recognition of the vital role primary care, and its staff, plays in delivering essential services to people throughout Wales,’ he said.
He added: ‘The recommended 4% pay uplift for contracted GPs and dentists will be taken alongside overall contract agreement in tripartite negotiations, which are due to commence shortly.
‘Our aim will be to secure this investment into primary care services as swiftly as possible, while progressing our ongoing programme of contract reform to ensure improved access to high-quality services for the public.’
Nicky Hughes, RCN Wales associate director of nursing (employment relations), said the college welcomed the Welsh Government’s ‘continued intention to apply any agreed pay uplifts to all general practice staff, including practice nurses’.
‘GPNs are vital to the delivery of care in communities across Wales, and it is only right that they benefit equally from pay awards,’ she told Nursing in Practice.
Related Article: NMC appoints new executive director of strategy and insight
However, she said the RCN ‘remain concerned that relying on GP practices to pass on uplifts without enforceable mechanisms risks inconsistency and unfairness’.
A Nursing in Practice survey of more than 550 nursing staff working in GP practices last autumn found that half of GP nursing staff across the UK had not yet received a pay rise for 2024/25.
Meanwhile, the RCN’s own survey of GPNs in February 2025 revealed almost a third of the profession was still without a pay rise for the financial year.
Ms Hughes added: ‘As negotiations for the 2025/26 GP contract begin, RCN Wales will continue to press for a fair, properly funded settlement that values the work of all nursing staff working in general practice.
‘Pay parity and recognition are essential if we are to retain skilled staff and protect patient care in primary settings.’
Related Article: RCN publishes revised standards for UK-wide nursing workforce
A special General practice nurse pay: A salary survey of the profession 2025 report – produced with our sister title Management in Practice – revealed that the average salary of a full-time (or full-time equivalent) GPN working in the UK is only £35,057 and lags behind those working in NHS hospitals.
In England, the RCN has today raised concerns over a lack of ‘clear’ messaging from the government and NHS England on pay uplifts for GPNs for 2025/26.
