Re: Much confusion around the meaning of real-terms income changes.
Dear Editor
Thank you for your feedback and for pointing out the potential confusion in the article. You are correct that the ‘real terms’ value of salaries is directly related to the cost of living, and the two are not separate facts. The use of the word ‘combined’ in the sentence below is misleading and we apologise for this oversight.
‘This fall, combined with a 25% increase in the cost of living in the UK over the same period, is disproportionately affecting the purchasing power of lower grade doctors, the analysis found.’
In the online version of the article, this has been changed to:
‘This fall, which aligns with a 25% increase in the cost of living in the UK over the same period, is disproportionately affecting the purchasing power of lower grade doctors, the analysis found.’
Note that although it is correct that doctors’ weighted average real term salaries fell by a quarter, FY2 doctors experienced a fall of 32% and registrars of 27%. The intention of the article was to highlight two specific aspects:
1. The impact of the wage freeze in 2008 on doctors’ salaries, which has made the loss of purchasing power more poignant than in other sectors that have benefitted from some salary updates.
2 .The differential effect of different types of expenses and its disparity by cities.
Adele Waters, author, freelance journalist
Mireia Jofre-Bonet, chief research officer and head of education, Office of Health Economics
Competing interests:
No competing interests
28 March 2024
Adele Waters
author, freelance journalist
Mireia Jofre-Bonet (chief research officer and head of education, Office of Health Economics)
Rapid Response:
Re: Much confusion around the meaning of real-terms income changes.
Dear Editor
Thank you for your feedback and for pointing out the potential confusion in the article. You are correct that the ‘real terms’ value of salaries is directly related to the cost of living, and the two are not separate facts. The use of the word ‘combined’ in the sentence below is misleading and we apologise for this oversight.
‘This fall, combined with a 25% increase in the cost of living in the UK over the same period, is disproportionately affecting the purchasing power of lower grade doctors, the analysis found.’
In the online version of the article, this has been changed to:
‘This fall, which aligns with a 25% increase in the cost of living in the UK over the same period, is disproportionately affecting the purchasing power of lower grade doctors, the analysis found.’
Note that although it is correct that doctors’ weighted average real term salaries fell by a quarter, FY2 doctors experienced a fall of 32% and registrars of 27%. The intention of the article was to highlight two specific aspects:
1. The impact of the wage freeze in 2008 on doctors’ salaries, which has made the loss of purchasing power more poignant than in other sectors that have benefitted from some salary updates.
2 .The differential effect of different types of expenses and its disparity by cities.
Adele Waters, author, freelance journalist
Mireia Jofre-Bonet, chief research officer and head of education, Office of Health Economics
Competing interests: No competing interests