New contract sees one per cent pay increase for GPs

A new contract agreed by the government, NHS England and the British Medical Association’s (BMA) General Practitioners Committee will see a one per cent pay rise for GPs.

The contract is set to take effect from 1 April 2016 and promises an investment of £220 million for 2016/17. In addition to the one per cent pay rise, the funding will also be used to meet rising expenses facing practices such as indemnity fees, national insurance, employer superannuation increases and running expenses.

NS England and the BMA have also agreed to take forward discussions in 2016 to develop a national approach to reducing bureaucracy and workload management in general practice, a national promotion of self-care and appropriate use of GP services, arrangements for sickness payments, an approach to calculating practice expenses and arrangements for identifying patients with EHIC or S1 and S2 forms through patient self-declaration.

The Dementia Enhanced Service will also cease as of the 31 March 2016, in recognition of the fact that GPs are more routinely diagnosing dementia.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said: “Today’s welcome agreement between NHS England and the BMA provides GPs with some stability and support, and shows what can be achieved through sensible and constructive negotiation. However this contract is only one small element of a far wider package we’re jointly developing to help practices with workload, workforce and care redesign.

“That will require radical new options, including further support for GP recruitment and return to practice, funding for additional primary care staff, new options for practice premises, a reduction in paper-based red tape, alternative approaches to indemnity cover, and redesigned out of hours, 111 and extended hours arrangements, to name just a few – all underpinned by much greater team working across individual practices.”

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “GPs are the bedrock of the NHS and I am determined to provide the support they need so they can spend more time with patients. Today’s deal is just the start of significant new investment for general practice which will help GPs to provide a truly modern, efficient service every day of the week.”