Press release: Negotiating a new NHS contract for UK GPs
27 Jul 2001
The first steps have been taken to establish the process by which the NHS Confederation and the BMA's General Practitioners' Committee will negotiate a new NHS contract for GPs.
The English Department of Health has agreed with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that the negotiations will cover GPs across the UK. Both the Confederation and the GPC are UK-wide bodies and will ensure that the views of practitioners and the health services in all four countries will be taken into account.
The Confederation's negotiating team will be led by Mike Farrar, currently Chief Executive of Tees Health Authority. Mike Farrar will report to Stephen Thornton, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation. Yesterday (26 July 2001), Mike Farrar and Stephen Thornton held an informal meeting with members of the GPC's negotiating team to discuss the process and its timetable.
Both parties recognise the need for immediate joint preparatory work followed by a concentrated programme of negotiations.
Stephen Thornton said: "We were pleased to be in early contact with GPC leaders, and identified a lot of common ground. However, the negotiations are bound to be complex, and we intend to use our links into the health service to secure an outcome that is good for patients, GPs and the NHS."
Dr Simon Fradd, joint Deputy Chairman of the General Practitioners' Committee said: "Early discussions have been positive and we welcome the commitment on both sides to make speedy progress on a new GP contract. We look forward to working with Mike Farrar, someone with whom we have worked constructively in the past."
Commenting, John Hutton, Minister of State at the English Department of Health, who will be leading on this for the UK Governments, said: "It is most encouraging that the process of agreeing how to move forward is now under way. I am confident that the Confederation and the GPC will put sustained effort into the challenging work ahead."
Notes for editors
- The NHS Confederation is the voice of NHS management. Our members include the majority of NHS trusts, primary care trusts and health authorities in England; trusts and health authorities in Wales; trusts and health boards in Scotland; and health and social services trusts and boards in Northern Ireland.
Contact details
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