NHS Confederation responds to measures and funding in new GP contract

Responding to the publication of the new GP contract, Dr Duncan Gooch, GP and chair of the Primary Care Network at the NHS Confederation said:

"We are grateful to the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England for involving the NHS Confederation in the consultation exercise to enable us to put across the views of our primary care members. We welcome the additional investment in primary care and the clear intent to stabilise core general practice through funding and streamlining unnecessary workload. After years of sustained pressure, these commitments are both necessary and overdue.

"Primary Care Networks and GP Federations may be concerned to see a continued erosion of funding for at-scale provision to improve access and patient experience. Strong, at-scale infrastructure is not a 'nice-to-have' - it is absolutely essential now and for the future if neighbourhood health services are to be delivered effectively, sustainably and equitably.

"We now look forward to the publication of the long-awaited neighbourhood guidance, which must provide the clarity, confidence and strategic direction our members need. With the right framework and support, neighbourhood health services can represent a genuinely promising future for patients and communities."