GP partners saw their pay drop by an average of 4% in the first six months of the financial year, despite an increase in the global sum.
The Pulse survey of 644 GP partners found that 46% said they had a pay decrease between April and October, while only 8% said their pay had increased in that time. Close to one in ten GP partners surveyed said that their pay had fallen by more than 10% since last April.
There are no official figures giving an accurate picture of GP pay. NHS Digital releases figures, but they are a year behind and fail to take into account the amount of time GPs work and any private work.
GPs in England were promised a 1% pay increase in the 2016/17 contract, as part of a 3.2% funding uplift - designed to meet rising expenses facing practices such as CQC fees, indemnity fees, national insurance, employer superannuation increases and running expenses.
At the time, accountants said the uplift could see 'first increase in earnings for several years'. But respondents to the survey said that the uplift was not enough to cover the increasing costs, while others pointed to funding cuts in other areas - including PMS and MPIG cuts.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the GPC, said: 'The Government has to recognise that we cannot continue to stagger on with a workforce that is working beyond safe limits and is shrinking as more GPs opt to leave medicine.
What change in drawings have you personally experienced in April?
| Pay change | Number of respondents | Percentage |
| More than 20% | 9 | 1.40 |
| 16-20% | 6 | 0.93 |
| 11-15% | 6 | 0.93 |
| 6-10% | 12 | 1.86 |
| Increased by 1-5% | 20 | 3.11 |
| No change | 216 | 33.54 |
| -1-5% | 90 | 13.98 |
| -6-10% | 100 | 15.53 |
| -11-15% | 51 | 7.92 |
| -16-20% | 28 | 4.35 |
| -more than 20% | 27 | 4.19 |
| -Don't know | 79 | 12.27 |
Source: Pulse Today