Doctors' pay fell further than public sector average over 14 years, BMJ reveals

Credit: PA Wire/Jacob King

By Claudia Tanner

Doctors' earnings have fallen more steeply in real terms than the public sector average between 2011 and 2025, according new research by a think tank.

The analysis, which compared real-terms earnings across healthcare groups with the public and private sectors, found that resident doctors' average earnings fell 8.6% over the 14-year period to March 2025, whilst consultants experienced a 10% decrease. This contrasts with an average fall of 6.9% across the entire public sector.

Other healthcare workers fared even worse, with midwives' pay falling 13.5% in real terms, nurses down 10.7%, and ambulance staff down 8.1% over the same period. Meanwhile, private sector pay rose by 3.3% in real terms.

The research, carried out by the Nuffield Trust and published in The BMJ, highlights that healthcare workers' earnings were particularly affected around 2022-23, when wages struggled to keep pace with inflation.

However, recent pay awards have begun to narrow the gap. Resident doctors were 15.9% behind 2011 levels in 2023-24 but have now recovered to 8.6% behind. Similarly, consultants improved from being 15.2% behind in 2022-23 to 10% behind in 2024-25.