NI Minister Announces Pay Increases For Healthcare Professionals

Health Minister, Paul Goggins has announced that pay awards for healthcare professionals in Northern Ireland will match NHS pay awards. In line with the rest of the public sector, the implementation of awards over 1.5% will be staged, with 1.5% paid at 1 April 2007 and the remainder being paid from 1 November.

Healthcare professionals in Northern Ireland will receive the same pay increases as their colleagues in the NHS. The pay awards, which are for the year 2007/2008, follow the recommendations made by the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body and the Nurses and other Healthcare Professionals Review Body.

The Minister said: “Healthcare professionals in Northern Ireland will receive the same pay increases as their colleagues in the NHS. Overall earnings growth in the health and social care service will be around 4.5% in 2007/08 as a result of this pay award, the Government’s pay reforms and opportunities for career progression.

“I appreciate that nurses and other health professions would prefer to have the complete award right away, however, nurses in particular, can expect their average earnings to rise by 4.9% next year. It is also expected that inflation across the year will be lower than it is now.”

The main pay review body recommendations are:

• 2.5% pay increase for nurses and other healthcare professionals
• A flat rate of £1,000 pa for hospital doctors and £650 pa for hospital doctors and dentists in training, giving an average of 2% across all groups, which will give increases ranging from 0.6% to 1.4% for consultants (0.6 % to the highest paid consultants)
• 3.1% for doctors in their first post (Foundation House Officers)
• 1.5% to 2.2% for Specialist Registrars
• 1.7% to 3.2% for staff grade doctors
• 1.3% to 2.9% for associate specialists