£53,755 – £60,504 a year
Consultant-practitioner, matron and service-manager roles — the first of the senior-management bands. The figure above is the England national base pay for 2025/26; London and high-cost areas add a High Cost Area Supplement, and clinical roles often earn more through unsocial-hours and on-call enhancements.
Indicative only — each employer maps roles to bands through job evaluation, so the same job title can sit on different bands at different trusts.
Within Band 8a you move up the pay points over time through annual increments, from £53,755 up to £60,504. The next step up is Band 8b (£62,215 – £72,293).
NHS Band 8a pays from £53,755 to £60,504 a year in 2025/26 (England). You start near the bottom of the band and move up the pay points through annual increments; London and high-cost areas add a supplement on top.
Consultant-practitioner, matron and service-manager roles — the first of the senior-management bands. Typical Band 8a roles include Advanced / consultant practitioner, Matron, Principal clinical scientist, Service manager.
The next band up is Band 8b, paying £62,215 – £72,293 a year in 2025/26.