GPs in Worcestershire earn less than their colleagues elsewhere in England but still earn, on average, more than £100,000 a year.

A report called GP Earnings and Expenses 2009/10 published by the NHS Information Centre this week shows county GPs earn less than the average.

GPs working in general medical services (GMS) earned an average of £100,033 before tax in Worcestershire in 2009/10 (up from £97,235 the previous year).

GPs working in primary medical services (PMS) in the county earned £100,033 in 2009/10, down from £100,793 the previous year.

A GMS practice is one that has a standard, nationally negotiated contract.

The PMS contract was introduced in 1998 in England and Scotland as a local alternative to the national GMS contract.

PMS contracts are voluntary, locally negotiated contracts between the primary care trust – in this case NHS Worcestershire – and the GP providers.

The average income before tax for contractor (GMS and PMS) GPs in 2009/10 was £109,400 in England (compared to £109,600 in 2008/09), £89,500 in Scotland (compared to £86,500 in 2008/09, an increase of 3.5 per cent), £93,500 in Wales (compared to £90,700 in 2008/09, an increase of 3.1 per cent) and £91,400 in Northern Ireland (compared to £89,700 in 2008/09).

NHS Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said: “Our report shows that, on average, a GP working in the UK earned roughly the same before tax in 2009/10 as they did in the previous year.

“If we consider GP earnings over time, the average pay for a contractor GP at present is a decrease on the peak of £110,000 in 2005/06.”

GPs whose practices are categorised as rural have higher average gross earnings, expenses and income before tax than GPs whose practices are categorised as urban.

GPMS (GMS and PMS) GPs in rural practices have an average income before tax of £110,600, while GPs in urban practices have an average income before tax of £104,600.

This can partly be explained by the fact that rural GPs are more likely to be in dispensing practices.