Northern Ireland Government confirms 4% DDRB pay uplift for GPs

GPs in Northern Ireland will receive the overdue 4% pay uplift recommended by the independent pay review body for 2025/26, the health minister has confirmed.

Earlier this year the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) recommended a headline 4% increase to salary scales, pay ranges and the pay elements of contracts from 1 April, which applied to all the nations of the UK.

In May Northern Ireland health minister Mike Nesbitt said he ‘intended to pay’ the uplift ‘in full’ but the final decision has since been delayed.

Today Mr Nesbitt said the executive has given approval to deliver the uplift backdated to 1 April.

He said: ‘The executive has today given me approval to deliver pay parity for health service staff, which was our original intention and what unions and professional bodies have been asking for and is their right.

‘This would restore pay parity with the percentage uplifts as recommended by pay review bodies being back dated in full to 1 April 2025. I would expect our HSC workforce to receive their uplift and back pay in their February 2026 pay packets.

‘In addition, and to ensure that issue of late payment of pay awards will never happen again, I can confirm that as health minister I am committed to ensuring future pay awards are prioritised in my budget allocation at the start of the financial year and adjusted as necessary to ensure parity.’

BMA Northern Ireland council chair Dr Alan Stout said: ‘We welcome today’s news that the minister and executive have finally approved the overdue pay uplift for doctors in Northern Ireland.

‘It is hugely disappointing that it has taken so long to resolve this and we sincerely hope lessons have indeed been learnt and pay will be prioritised in next year’s budgeting process. The goodwill of doctors has been stretched to breaking point.’

It comes as GPs in Northern Ireland began collective action this summer, implementing measures ‘designed to reduce the unfunded work they carry out’.

Mr Nesbitt imposed the GMS contract for 2025/26 on GP practices for the first time this year, despite the offer being overwhelmingly rejected by the profession.