Anaesthetic Practitioner Salary NHS 2026/27: Band 5 to 7

This page is for operating department practitioners and theatre nurses looking at anaesthetic practitioner posts, and for anyone who has seen "anaesthetic practitioner" and "anaesthesia associate" and wondered whether they are the same job. They are not, and they are paid quite differently. For the wider ODP profession see our ODP salary page, and for nursing in theatres see theatre nurse salary.

Anaesthetic practitioner pay points 2026/27 (England)

Use the NHS Pay Calculator for your exact take-home pay at any band and point, including High Cost Area Supplement. For every band side by side, see the Agenda for Change pay scales guide.

Scotland's rates

NHS Scotland has its own 2026/27 table. For this role it runs from £34,544 to £61,466. Band 5: £34,544 to £43,039. Band 6: £43,231 to £52,679. Band 7: £52,845 to £61,466. See NHS Scotland pay scales 2026/27 for every band.

Who an anaesthetic practitioner is, and who can apply

NHS Careers describes ODPs working in the anaesthetic phase of an operation: helping and supporting patients before surgery and preparing specialist equipment and drugs, including anaesthetic machines and intravenous equipment. In many trusts that role is advertised as an anaesthetic practitioner post, and it is the working title for the practitioner who works alongside the anaesthetist in the anaesthetic team.

2026 NHS adverts for Band 5 anaesthetic practitioner posts were typically open to both HCPC-registered ODPs and NMC-registered nurses who hold a recognised anaesthetic qualification. Some also welcomed final-year students who would finish within six months, and one trust offered supernumerary status while a new starter worked towards its competencies. The routes are open to both professions, and which suits you depends on your registration and your interest in the wider perioperative role.

This is why the term overlaps with others. ODP is a profession with a protected title. Anaesthetic practitioner is the position in which many ODPs and some nurses work. Our ODP salary page covers the profession, and the how to become an ODP guide covers the degree route. The nursing side is on the theatre nurse salary page.

If an advert says only "anaesthetic practitioner" without a band, treat it as unspecified and ask. The same title can sit in different bands depending on the grade of the post.

Band 5 as the entry point, and what sits above

NHS Careers says ODPs are typically paid from Band 5, and the 2026 anaesthetic practitioner adverts we found agree: they were advertised as Band 5. One trust's Band 5 post showed the Band 5 England range exactly as in our table above. Another showed a higher figure that included High Cost Area Supplement, so compare like with like.

Above Band 5, senior and specialist posts are sometimes advertised at Band 6, for example for experienced practitioners who cover several specialties, though we did not find a national rule on this. Our ODP page describes the Band 6 and Band 7 ladder in more detail, including team leader and advanced practice roles. Those bands are set per post, not earned by time served.

If you are qualified for years on Band 5 and doing senior work, ask for your job description to be reviewed. See how to challenge your NHS pay band and NHS band regrading and rebanding appeals.

Band 5 for a newly qualified practitioner brings preceptorship and a period of supervised practice in most trusts; see NHS preceptorship explained. Our Band 5 salary page and Band 6 salary page list the pay points for each step.

Anaesthesia associate: Band 7 and GMC registration

NHS Careers says student anaesthesia associates are usually paid between Band 5 and Band 7, depending on employer and personal circumstances, and qualified anaesthesia associates are paid at least Band 7. The entry requirements are either a 2:1 or better in a biomedical or biological science degree, or registration as a health professional such as a nurse or ODP with at least three years' full-time post-qualification experience and recent academic study.

The course is a full-time postgraduate programme of 24 or 27 months, depending on the university, with most of the time spent on clinical placement. You do not apply to the university directly: you first secure a student post with a trust that has places. Anaesthesia associates work as part of an anaesthetic team under an autonomously practising anaesthetist, such as a consultant or SAS doctor, and cannot prescribe or supply medicines under a patient group direction.

The General Medical Council began regulating anaesthesia associates in December 2024. NHS Employers says the two-year transition period ends on 13 December 2026, after which using the title without GMC registration is a criminal offence, and the GMC said applications received by 14 September 2026 were needed for a reasonable chance of a decision before the deadline. A government consultation on proposed changes to the professional titles for anaesthesia associates closed on 21 July 2026, and NHS Careers says a response is expected later this year, so the title may change.

For the parallel role see physician associate salary. Our Band 7 page lists the pay points.

Routes in for ODPs and nurses

For an ODP, NHS Careers says the route is a degree in operating department practice, usually at least five GCSEs at grades 4 to 9 plus A-levels or equivalent such as a T level, or a degree apprenticeship. Graduates register with the HCPC before practising, and the profession then offers progression into management, education and research, or further training as a surgical care practitioner, anaesthesia associate or advanced critical care practitioner.

For a nurse, the route is a nursing degree and NMC registration, then experience in theatres and a recognised post-registration anaesthetic qualification, which adverts commonly ask for. Our how to become a nurse guide covers the first step.

Moving from one profession to the other is not simple. An ODP cannot register as a nurse without nursing training, and the reverse is also true, so choose the route that matches your longer-term plans. If you are a nurse thinking about a switch, switching careers into nursing shows the reverse direction.

Visa and sponsorship rules apply to overseas applicants. One 2026 advert noted that the role might qualify for a Skilled Worker visa but that the employer would decide whether to issue a certificate of sponsorship. See NHS visa sponsorship and right to work.

On-call, unsocial hours and Scotland

Anaesthetic teams cover emergency and out-of-hours surgery in many hospitals, so on-call is common in some departments and absent in others. On-call payments are agreed locally under the principles in Annex 29 of the Handbook (England, paragraph 2.26), and you cannot be paid unsocial hours and an on-call payment for the same hours (paragraph 2.9). If you are called in and work, unsocial hours apply to those hours.

At Bands 5 to 7 in England, Section 2 adds time plus 30% for Saturdays and weekday hours between 8pm and 6am, and time plus 60% on Sundays and public holidays. Enhancements are based on basic pay and exclude High Cost Area Supplement (paragraph 2.8). Overtime is payable at Bands 1 to 7 at time and a half, and double time on public holidays (Section 3). Our on-call payments guide and unsocial hours guide have worked examples.

In Scotland the Scottish Handbook applies, with Scotland's own 2026/27 pay table, a 36-hour full-time week from 1 April 2026 and overtime for every band from 1 to 9. HCPC and GMC registration are UK-wide. Unsocial hours percentages at Band 4 and above are the same as in England. Wales has its own scales; see NHS Wales pay scales, and the rota take-home calculator for modelling your own pattern.

Worked example: take-home pay for a anaesthetic practitioner

Using the same 2026/27 Income Tax, National Insurance and NHS Pension Scheme rules as our NHS Pay Calculator, here is what a full-time anaesthetic practitioner on the England scale takes home outside a High Cost Area Supplement zone, before any unsocial hours enhancements.

Why you can trust these anaesthetic practitioner pay figures

• ✓ Every band and pay point comes from the published 2026/27 Agenda for Change tables, not from job adverts.
• ✓ Facts about training, registration and progression are checked against the sources listed below, and the date is shown at the top.
• ✓ No NHS, DHSC or trust affiliation: an independent reference, not official guidance.

Sources: NHS Careers: operating department practitioner; NHS Careers: anaesthesia associate; NHS Employers: anaesthesia associates; NHS Employers: end of GMC transition period for PAs and AAs; NHS Employers: unsocial hours payments; NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook (Sections 2 and 3, Annex 29); NHS Scotland Agenda for Change Handbook (updated 2026), Sections 2, 3 and 10. Last checked October 2026.

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