Concerned about the number of GPs who are leaving the profession or taking early retirement – meaning that the number of trained doctors is at a dangerously low level – the Department of Health (DH) has announced it is considering setting GPs’ pay uplift for the next tax year according to where they practice.

The DH has come up with a number of plans to recruit and keep GPs, including a Facebook campaign and a ‘return to practice’ scheme and has now written to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) asking it to consider how an average uplift of one per cent in pay could be applied to improve recruitment and retention.

The DH will consult with the DDRB on whether practices’ funding uplift could be dependent on where they are based and, as part of the process, the organisation will look at evidence from the British Medical Association (BMA) and NHS Employers to decide what funding uplift to give to practices that will translate to a one per cent pay rise.

The move is part of a £10m 10-point plan to try and solve the GP recruitment problem. This aims to promote general practice, target support, offer new ways of working and make it easy for GPs to return to practice.

However, attempts at boosting recruitment in some areas have not yet proved successful. One scheme offering MBAs to doctors committed to working as salaried GPs in Hull, for example, failed to lead to any post being filled.

GP leaders have criticised the move, saying that an overall uplift of one per cent is not going to do much for recruitment and retention. They also criticise the idea of only applying it in certain areas, with one commenting that all areas are struggling to recruit and retain GPs, so it should be a nationwide scheme.