The "average UK GP salary" figures that keep being shouted about are misleading for a number of reasons. The average combines truly salaried GPs and also GPs contracted to provide a service.

In the case of the second type of GP the "salary" that they talk about isn't salary as such, it is the amount the GP is paid for the services they provide. Therefore the payment looks higher than one might expect because the GP also has costs in providing the service that a truly salaried GP does not.

The average also includes GPs that run an on site pharmacy and the earnings from that are also included in their "salary".

When GPs who aren't truly salaried are excluded, the typical GP salary comes out to more like £45k-£80k. Not exactly on the bread line, but also not the levels that the media keep banging on about.