Mr Philp told LBC: “I mean, obviously we support our doctors but a 30 percent pay rise is enormous. <\/p>\n
“I understand we’ve got inflation it is about the same in the UK as it is in the OECD as a whole, almost exactly the same.<\/p>\n
“But if everybody gets a sort of pay rise tomorrow across the whole economy, then all that will do is that will then feed through into higher prices because companies will have to put their prices up in the case of the NHS will have to put taxes up to fund that excess money will just drive prices up even further.<\/p>\n
“So you will find that if we have these sort of across-the-board, pay increases that some people are calling for it will just make the current inflation challenges, which I’m hoping and expecting are temporary, it’ll make them worse.<\/p>\n
JUST IN: Brexit Britain lauded for ‘leading the way’ on Ukraine crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n “It’ll drive inflation even higher, and it’ll make inflation permanent, as we saw during the 1970s when the sort of wages chased up inflation, it became circular like a dog chasing his tail.”<\/p>\n It comes as GPs threatened the possibility of industrial action over a contract that forces them to offer appointments at evenings and weekends.<\/p>\n Medics at the British Medical Association (BMA) annual conference in Brighton called on BMA leaders to act upon a 2021 indicative ballot and “organise opposition” to the contract, “including industrial action if necessary”.<\/p>\n While GPs would be unlikely to stop providing emergency and urgent care, they could refuse to carry out other routine work and they could cut their hours.<\/p>\n In March, NHS England announced changes to the 2022\/23 GP contract, saying doctors needed to make at least 25 percent of appointments available for online booking while also extending opening hours.<\/p>\n The changes mean GPs need to offer appointments from 9am to 5pm on Saturdays, as well as until 8pm on weekdays.<\/p>\n The BMA criticised the contract and said NHS England had refused to offer practices reimbursement to cover additional costs for national insurance contributions, which will lead to cuts in staffing.<\/p>\n The union’s call for flexibility for Primary Care Networks (PCNs) to “hire the professionals they need based on the needs of their patients” was also turned down. Instead they are bound by “rigid, prescriptive job roles”.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/139\/590x\/Philp-says-30-percent-pay-rise-for-doctors-is-enormous-1632297.jpg?r=1656425103030\")
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<\/p>\nBrits face 'potentially massive crisis' as GPs quit says Marshall<\/h3>\n
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