The government is planning to “bring back the family doctor” by giving GPs an extra £889m to spend time with patients in a bid to end a dispute.
Under proposals for the new GP contract for 2025/26, which is being consulted upon now, GPs would be incentivised to ensure patients most in need see the same doctor every time.
The government said it will provide an extra £889m on top of the existing GP budget to help “slash red tape” so doctors can do their jobs.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said the plan is also to reduce the number of “outdated performance targets” from 76 to 44 so GPs can spend more time with patients.
GPs who are members of the British Medical Association (BMA) are currently in a period of “collective action”, voted on in August, as they say their annual budget increases over the past five years have fallen well below inflation – making it difficult for doctors to meet the rising costs of operating practices – and driving hundreds of surgeries to close.
The doctors can choose which action they take, ranging from withdrawing data-sharing agreements to limiting daily patient contacts to 25, which the BMA says is the recommended safe maximum but is well below how many GPs currently see.
Mr Streeting said he hopes the proposals for next year’s contract, which will be unveiled in the spring, will ensure GPs end their collective action.
Health minister Stephen Kinnock said the extra £889m has come from “moving money around from within the system” and “reprioritisation”.
Read more:
How the GP industrial action could affect you
NHS must ‘live within budget’, says chancellor
