Doctors and dentists in Wales get 2.5% pay rise

The minister said he had invested extra money to fund the pay deal without undermining delivery of services

Doctors and dentists in Wales will get a 2.5% pay rise, back-dated to April, the Welsh Government has announced.

This is in line with the recommendation by an independent UK pay body.

But a further 1% pay rise recommended for middle grade - speciality and assistant speciality - doctors will be subject to the negotiation of a new contract on a UK-wide basis.

The Welsh Government pay offer is very similar to what was offered to doctors in England by the Department of Health.

It also matches the pay increase in Scotland.

In a written statement to AMs, Health Minister Vaughan Gething said the pay award "recognises the value and dedication of hard working doctors and dentists and their key contribution to the NHS in Wales".

He called it "one of the biggest pay uplifts" for doctors and dentists in more than a decade, while accounting for affordability and prioritising patient care.

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Doctors' association BMA Cymru Wales has welcomed the general 2.5% uplift as a recognition of the "huge contribution" doctors make to frontline care.

But it said by withholding a 1% increase for middle-grade doctors and freezing some aspects of consultants' bonus pay, ministers had "still some way to go to fully value doctors - or the challenging working conditions they face".

Chairman David Bailey added that at a time of UK-wide staff shortages and unprecedented levels of demand, the announcement "won't make major inroads into improving the morale of the profession as a whole".