To ask what a consultant surgeon typically earns in the UK?

[Pottedpalm]

Just that really;there are published pay scales but I don’t know how much ‘overtime’ is typical.
Also, if a consultant sets up
in private practice in addition to nhs work, is the sky the limit?

Puts GP pay into perspective doesn’t it. I’m a salaried GP with 20 years experience and I get paid less than a consultant just starting out…I’d earn at least 30-40k more as a consultant and would actually have the ability to say my clinic list is full for that day. Not to mention the additional income if I did private practice. Yet strangely it’s always GP pay under scrutiny in the media

Where are PPs getting the idea that consultants get £100k+ as a starting salary?
It takes almost a decade as a consultant (junior dr years don’t count) to get to £100k. After another decade, a consultant will be on £114k, so not great pay progression!
Any private work or waiting list work is done in their own personal time.
Overtime, e.g if a clinic is overbooked, surgery is complex or an urgent case comes in towards the end of your shift, is not paid for - these additional hours can be substantial.

A starting full-time consultant salary in the NHS after 5-6 years medical school and a further 10-12 years of working to a very high standard as a “junior doctor” (loathsome term), including high volume complex operating at all hours of day and night and a probable PhD on top of all that is about £82,000. Very few surgeons do private practice. Some specialties have more private work potential (eg orthopaedics) but if you’re in one of the more cancer-orientated specialties then no.

This thread is ridiculous.

I've no idea.

I don't work or have any knowledge of the field so my comments were more surprise than anything else. Seems low for the work that's done and responsibility.

The salary scale is widely published, it started at about £72 six years ago so I can believe it starts at £84k now. Junior doctors get something like £30-£35?

I manage a team of 8 consultants.

All on 11-14PAs. 1 in 7 on-call for a high stakes specialty where they do actually get called in regularly to operate at 3/4am. Their on call weeks are brutal, half do private work, half don’t. One also runs a private company doing other private work around appraisals/training.

The vast majority of surgeons in my region are on 12PA as standard. 2 of those are usually for the on call commitment, of the rest, 5 (so 2.5 days a week) will be patient facing stuff like operating and clinic, and the rest will be non patient facing (admin, CPD etc).

Even on the lowest point of the scale that equates to 100k salary. It’s decent money but also a hard job.

The above salary scale posted is what a consultant surgeon gets. DH is a surgeon, does not do any extra work

I agree it’s ridiculous . And thank you for the accurate real world information.

What’s even more ridiculous is

• loads of people commenting confidently stating things that aren’t rooted in experience or fact

• the OP still not explaining why they want to know about this in such detail

Junior doctors get £25k these days, because the contract changed in 2016, people may remember. Trainees feel quite bitter about it. Also, as they go through their careers they will earn less, and unless older doctors, they'll be paying back very long and expensive student loans.

Unlike, not unless

Sorry posted too soon.
Both of us are in specialities with excellent private practice potential. But we never bothered with setting up private practice.
I don't think any amount of money will persuade me to give my mobile number to patients. We both work weekends and do out of hours on calls and with our specialities we need to go in often during on calls. Don't fancy doing more hours than necessary.
What drives my husband is not the extra money he spends his time doing research, audits, improving and setting up new service.

i know a lot of consultants. The only ones who don’t do private work are in A&E or acute medicine, without expecting the rest also have private practice.

we had our oncologists email and mobile number and have also had our paediatrician direct email. The oncologist had such a terrible Secretary he told us not to use her!

@welshweasel
12 PAs including oncall commitments is really good- most people I know get a percentage uplift. Must be really heavy on-call commitment.

12 PAs is MORE than full-time - 8 hours per week extra - which is why they reach the £100k earlier.
The salary scale is based on a full time (10PA) job.

It depends on the hours and the scale.

But starting- I'd say upwards of 90k if full time. Then building up private practice in own time up to 120k on top if doing really well, but could be just 20k if not doing much.

This thread is an eye opener - never really gave any thought and then linked this thread to my doctor friend…!

I don't know about salaries, but re the discussion about contacting consultants directly - I had a mobile number for my private obs and gynae consultant (who supported my pregnancy and delivery via c-section) on which I could reach her anytime. But a high flat fee is paid for pregnancy support separate from the surgery so that makes sense as part of the service. I also have no idea if it was a personal mobile, but it was certainly essentially 24/7. I would guess that those consultants' private practices are quite lucrative given the number of women seen by the consultant in each check-up clinic.

@Designhelp apologies, poorly phrased. I get 3 PA for my acute work (which includes weekends, ‘hot’ weeks of being on call and night cover). We also get a 3% supplement for the non resident part of the on call. So on a normal week I will do 2.5 days of clinical work plus admin/CPD etc but on ‘hot’ weeks I’ll do 50 hours of direct clinical care.

A 10PA contract rarely works for surgical specialties as once you’ve taken the acute work into account it leaves very little time to do elective work. The Welsh contract is also slightly different to the English contract so this effect is felt even more. Hence why everyone here is on at least 12PA.

Oh, and there is no chance I’d ever give out my mobile number to a patient!

How did you work out £100-£150k when the info you linked shows £107k as the top payscale after 19 years as a consultant?

This is the first time I am hearing of patients having consultants mobile number.

Doesn’t matter what specialty, all consultants in England (not sure about NI, S & W) are on the same scale. Additional pay is for additional contracted hours and is also standardised - so if your are 5th year consultant contracted 12PAs then that is the same salary whether you are consultant in Newcastle or Devon, a surgeon or a paediatrician

I realise that but OP specifically asked about surgeon.

Ok - I read it as that was the salary for a surgeon and it may be different for others