Nuffield Trust response to new GP contract and end of collective action

Responding to the announcement of the new GP contract and the end of collective action, Nuffield Trust Director of Research and Policy and practising GP Dr Becks Fisher said:

“Patients, GPs and their teams desperately want improvements to general practice. This contract offers a glimmer of hope.

“This is the first time in years that a contract has been agreed mutually rather than imposed on the profession by the government. Today marks the end of collective action by GPs, signalling a real shift in relations between the profession and government.

“However, this contract alone does not solve many of the huge challenges that remain in general practice. There is still a long way to go to restore patient satisfaction with GP services, to attract and retain GPs and to improve the premises they’re practising from.

“For too long, general practice has been underfunded. A decent chunk of the 7.2% uplift announced today will be swallowed up by increases in Employer National Insurance Contributions. But government is making good on commitments to boost the proportion of NHS funding going to general practice, and GPs will welcome the direction of travel.

“An important next step will be to address the unfair distribution of funding between richer and poorer areas, which has been a long-standing problem with the current GP funding formula.”