How do you feel about knowing what your doctor earns?

Question

I see the average pay of a GP is £106K

Do you think we have a right to know what all public paid employees earn, or would an ideal system be one where we TRUST the system to pay doctors appropriately, rather than subject such a personal part of thier lives to tabloid headlines.

If you work in the council, how would you feel about your salary being posted on your neighbours kitchen table ?

This is not a question on how much doctors earn, just about thier job conditions being public

JK, great answer, abusive, assumptions, missing the question completely....great.

You have no clue who i am, what i earn, or even what i asked !!

PLEASE EVERYONE - DID I EVER SAY I WAS INTERESTED IN WHAT DOCTORS GET PAID ??

WHATS THE QUESTION ??

How do you feel about KNOWING what your doctor earns ?

NOT

What do you think about a doctor earning £106K ?

and now JK has started sending me sarcastic emails.

Whats the point in that ?

Answer 1

we dont need to know what they earn

Answer 2

I think we have the right to know what a Doctor earns - as they are paid from the public purse. Civil servants salaries are commonly known, so Doctor's they are not treated any differently to any other public sector worker.

I think your question is highlighting more the historic battle that health care providers have had with being regulated - by the state. Doctors and consultants do not like being regulated but are happy to pick up the ever increasing salary to the ever decreasing hours they work which are often supplemented by providing private health care, using NHS machinery and space. Perks of the job.

When a Doctor is earning on average £100,000 and the health system is collapsing, and I get asked by my GP to change a medication that a consultant prescribed, but which my local surgery deem too expensive for their budget then of course I like others would like to know where all the money that is taken out of my salary goes to in the Health Service.

GPs have to see it from the other side, but it appears greed has taken over the so called caring sector.

Answer 3

GPs will often work from 8am to 11am in consultation - then spend from 11am to 5pm doing the increasingly more bureacratic paperwork that is requried of them, as well as home visits, telelphone calls to patients etc, and then return to surgery from 5pm to 7pm. Thats a very long day and one in which they must stay alert at all times because they are dealing with the most important thing of all - health. They must attend seminars and keep up to date with new developments in medicine as well as running what is essentially a small business.

The 106k is an average, and a lot of that is often re-invested by GPs into their practice. Some will obviously earn less. The important thing about the new contract is that it rewards GPs for the quality of their care, and the range of services their practice provides rather than just keep podding money out to doctors regardless of the service they are providing to their patients.

On top of everything there is the economic argument that GPs must spend many many years studying medicine, with student loans to get them through, then working for a pittance, and then probably as a salaried doctor before they will get anywhere near being a partner in a practice with earnings of this amount.

As for the earnings being published, I think it is a typical tabloid story which captures the publics attention but means very little - what is an average anyway - most GPs you talk to will dispute they earn anywhere near this amount. Its just further evidence of the trying to put down our fabulous NHS without true consideration given to market factors.

And no Im not a GP!

Answer 4

I think that they have to earn very much money so they'll make a good job when you're on the table.
I think that a "ideal system" can't be made by human brain. If you'll know how much money he earns you'll probably feel angry because they earn like a fortune. But think about they work.

What is a couple of numbers and some 0 with an £ at the end have to do with the perfect system?

Answer 5

As long as you know the job title of ANY public employee you can work out to within a few thousand how much they earn.

I think this is absolutely right. It's taxpayers' money, and we have a right to know how it is being spent.

And how come GPs are earning £40k more than they did 5 years ago for providing a worse service (e,g, no out of hours calls)?

Answer 6

They spend a lot of time in school and have lots of student loans to pay off. I don't have a problem knowing doctors earn a lot of money.

I do not believe a person's salary should be made public, unless that person was caught in some kind of monetary criminal act, like extortion or fraud.

Answer 7

I think it should not matter of wages being public. Doctors have to work hard with yrs of study, experience stuff most of us would faint, they deserve every penny & if made public we should not make judgement. They do a job that would deserve a high wage. As for other public sectors I beleive their wages should be made public as their wages are paid with our money tax payers. To make judgement is incorrect a job is worth the price it is by mkt forces it is not the employees decision really on the amount.

Answer 8

Blimey there must be some GP's earning about 250K a year then because the GP's here only get approx 39k.
I don't care what they earn, I only care if they treat me like a humanbeing and not a ten minute time slot.

Answer 9

Doctors serve the public as do MPs and their salaries have been public knowledge for years. We pay (via NI, council tax, PAYE etc) for their salaries, so it is interesting to know what they earn. Are they worth it and provide value for money? IMHO, yes doctors/medical profession do, from the care I have received from them.

I would love to know what all the NHS "managers" and local council leaders earn, do they provide value for money, I doubt it.

Answer 10

I dont think it matters how much people earn, just as long as they do deserve their money by being as professional as possible.

I mean is it right that footballers get paid the high amount they do for kicking a ball??

gps, doctors, consultants, surgeons, save lifes! they deserve alot more than a few 100 thousands

Answer 11

How do I feel about it? It makes me want to peuk. Most are complete quacks and make poor excuses for vets. They spend 2 minutes with you after you've waited 3 hours to see them and they don't listen, don't help, then put you off till another day. I think they should be paid according to how much they help a patient, and the patient should decide.