Dennis Reed, from campaign group Silver Voices, urged ministers to explain how such spending had been allowed, saying: “We all want a professional, well-trained and qualified GP service, but it is difficult to justify increases at this level , considering earnings at this level.
“These increases were at a time when the whole country was struggling, with many people down.
“It will be incredibly upsetting and distressing for older people who struggled to get an in-person appointment, or sometimes just to get an appointment, to hear that GPs were getting such huge increases and to hear it now like across the country. faces a cost-of-living crisis.”
During the pandemic, GP practices were paid £13 per Covid vaccine, with fees rising to £15 and more on Sundays as the crisis became more urgent.
Meanwhile, the framework that normally governs their pay was partially suspended, linking it to the amount of work they do. Under a deal negotiated with the BMA, GPs continued to be paid for tasks such as checks on the elderly and monitoring patients with asthma, diabetes and heart disease without having to do them.
As GPs are self-employed, they were also able to apply for government support schemes, with successful applicants receiving an extra £12,500 on average.
Dr Farah Jameel, chair of the BMA England GP committee, said the earnings figures reflected “monumental efforts” by GPs during the pandemic, adding that they had been “pushed to the limit”.
He added: “They also represent additional short-term and temporary emergency response funding to practices to enable them to successfully deliver the vaccination programme, despite huge and historic workforce shortages.”
It comes amid a widespread shortage of GPs. On Monday, an investigation revealed that 1.5 million people have lost their GP in the past eight years after nearly 500 practices closed.
Professor Martin Marshall, president of the Royal College of GPs, has said the role has become so stressful that it can now be “undone” full-time.