News

GPs vote on new contract

Lengthy arguments about GPs’ contracts should be resolved by the end of June, following a British Medical Association meeting at the end of May.

The BMA GPs’ Committee (GPC) sent out ballot papers to the 43,000 GPs and GP registrars during June.

If the doctors accept the deal, the government will be able to meet its parliamentary deadlines for getting necessary legislation in place, ready to implement the contract fully from April 2004.

They were asked to respond with a yes or no to the question, ‘Do you wish to see the proposed new GMS contract implemented?’ and could vote via the internet. The vote is UK-wide, with no separate counts in the devolved countries.

The GPC’s decision to go ahead with the ballot followed agreement on some key points, including: the use of registered lists of patients rather than ONS census based data for calculating resources; removal of a financial penalty for practices using the Minimum Practice Income Guarantee; agreement on the use of disease prevalence data at practice level for calculating payments in the Quality and Outcomes Framework.

The BMA and the NHS Confederation, which negotiated the contract for the government, have agreed that every doctor will be offered a permanent minimum income guarantee, to ensure that no practice loses money as a result of switching to the new contract.

The agreement follows extensive negotiations after GPs – who initially welcomed the deal – realised that some could lose money if they signed up to the new contract, and cancelled a ballot scheduled for March.

If accepted, all GPs working under the General Medical Services contract will transfer to the new contract automatically in April 2004. Those who work under local Personal Medical Services contracts will be able to opt to transfer to it.

BMA GPC chairman Dr John Chisholm said he thought the contract was ‘the right way forward’.

He added: ‘It meets the objectives laid down by the profession in the national survey of GP opinion and it will deliver high quality care for patients. I urge every GP in the UK to use their vote. The future of general practice is in their hands.’