Shropshire GP is earning £300,000 from the NHS

A Shropshire GP is earning more than £300,000 a year from the NHS, health bosses have confirmed. The figure has been described as "astronomical" by a doctors' leader in the county.

Freedom of Information requests have revealed that nationally 161 GPs had annual earnings of £200,000 or more in the tax year 2008-09, the most recent for which figures are available.

The highest-paid GP was found to be a senior partner and owner of two practices in the London borough of Hillingdon, who declared annual earnings from the NHS of £507,241.

But six other doctors - including one from Shropshire - earned £300,000 a year or more.

Stuart Rees, Shropshire County Primary Care Trust's director of finance, said: "Payments are made by the PCT to GP practices through nationally determined contracts.

"Individual GP earnings are determined through agreements within the practices themselves, with which the PCT has no involvement.

"The PCT can confirm that in 2008-09 there was one GP in Shropshire who declared NHS pensionable earnings of more than £300,000."

The identity of the doctor is not known.

The earnings have surprised other GPs in the county.

Dr Mary McCarthy of Shrewsbury,chairman of the Shropshire Local Medical Committee (LMC) which represents family doctors, said: "I am not aware of anyone in Shropshire earning that much."

She said the doctor could be an "entrepreneurial GP" who ran other services for which the NHS paid.

Dr Ian Rummens of Oswestry, LMC secretary, said: "It is a huge amount of money. Astronomical.

"It is way more than the vast majority of GPs are earning, in excess of double of what they earn."

Salaried GPs earn up to about £81,000 but the figure can rise to more than £110,000 depending on the doctor's contract. And extra can be earned by carrying out vaccinations or testing and monitoring.