Press release: A new era begins for family doctors

31 Mar 2004

BMA / NHSC Joint Press Release
On Thursday (1 April) the majority of GPs in the UK will switch to a new national contract. For patients this landmark development in general practice will, over time, mean increasing quality of care and a wider range of services closer to their homes.
 
The new General Medical Services (GMS) contract, negotiated between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the NHS Confederation (acting on behalf of the four UK health departments) is designed to:

* ensure GPs receive fair and increased rewards and greater control over their workload to improve morale and tackle GP shortages

* put quality improvement at the heart of primary care through a new Quality and Outcomes Framework based on the best medical evidence of how to improve patients' health

* expand and develop the range of  services to patients in the community

* put more money into primary care, with expenditure on this part of the NHS rising by 33% over three years.

Dr John Chisholm, chairman of the BMA's General Practitioners Committee, said: "I believe the introduction of the new GP contract this week marks the beginning of a change that will be better for patients and better for everyone working in general practice."

Dr Gill Morgan, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, commented: "These changes will put primary care in the driving seat in delivering high quality, convenient and accessible health services to local communities across the UK. It is the first time any health system will systematically reward GPs on the basis on how well they care for patients rather than the number of patients they treat."

Patients should not expect to see any dramatic changes overnight. As the contract beds in, and the Quality and Outcomes Framework work develops, they will benefit from a uniform application of the best clinical care explicitly resourced for the first time.

There is a Patient Services Guarantee in the new contract to ensure that people can continue to get the range of services they need within their area. Many practices will be inviting patients to give their views on the service they are receiving by asking them to fill in questionnaires about the services they provide. Practices that do this will receive extra funding, as will those that offer appointments within 48 hours.

Between April and December this year, GP practices will be able to hand over responsibility for out-of-hours care (during evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays) to the local Primary Care Organisation (PCO) where the PCO agrees to this. From 1 January next year the PCO will automatically have responsibility for out-of-hours care. Each PCO will come up with its own pattern of providing this care and many will use a mixture of nurses, paramedics, ambulance services and other health care professionals to work with GPs in providing the service patients need.

Dr Chisholm said: "Although we expect the majority of GP practices to hand over responsibility this year, patients will still be able to see a GP when they need to. Many individual doctors are planning to work outside surgery hours for a fair reward. It is likely that for less serious problems patients will be able to talk to a nurse or other health professional with GPs dealing with the more serious and complex cases."

Dr Gill Morgan, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, said: "Primary Care Trusts are committed to ensuring that out-of-hours services are available when and where patients need them."

It is hoped that the new national GP contract will make general practice a more attractive career for doctors and that, over time, the current GP shortage will be alleviated as a result.

Ends

Notes for editors

If you want more details of how the new contract will work please contact press office (see numbers for BMA and NHSC press office below) and look on the websites :

BMA website :
http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/__Hub+GPC+contract

NHSC website :
http://www.nhsconfed.org

We can also provide you with the names of contacts to talk to in your area.

The GMS contract was accepted by 79 per cent of GPs who voted in a ballot in June 2003.

Contact details

Contact:
Linda Millington                                                                 020 7383 6473
Public Affairs Division                                                      After 6:00 pm and weekends:
British Medical Association                                              020 8651 5130
BMA House        020 8444 7992
Tavistock Square        01525 379792 ; 07870 477432
London WC1H 9JP                

BMA website: www.bma.org.uk
Email: pressoffice@bma.org.uk

Jenny Reindorp, NHS Confederation
Tel : 020 7959 7237

NHSC website : http://www.nhsconfed.org
Email: jenny.reindorp@nhsconfed.org

 

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