Resident doctors’ pay is 4-10% lower than in 2010-11, analysis finds

A Nuffield Trust analysis has shown that resident doctors’ pay is still behind 2010-11 levels in real terms. The think tank published the data as NHS England’s chief executive said that doctors should suffer financial consequences for impending strikes.1

The analysis found that, even after accounting for the latest pay increases, real terms average earnings of resident doctors in 2025-26 “still fall behind 2010-11 levels by between 4% and 10%.” But it added that the doctors’ position had “markedly improved since 2023-24,” when they faced high inflation and sacrificed pay when striking.

The figures emerged after the BMA’s Resident Doctors Committee confirmed that its members will strike from Friday 25 July to Wednesday 30 July, after the government refused to meet its …