The Government has formally committed to renegotiating a ‘completely new’ national GP contract, meaning the BMA’s GP Committee has now officially agreed to 2025/26 contract changes.
This morning, at a special conference of LMCs, GP Committee England chair Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer welcomed the commitment, and the BMA has now confirmed that it is no longer in dispute with the Government.
The GPCE had previously agreed ‘in principle’ to the 2025/26 contract changes – which came with a £889m funding boost – but only on the condition that the Government committed to a wholesale renegotiation of the national GP contract.
The BMA set a deadline for this commitment, asking health secretary Wes Streeting to provide the assurance in writing before the special conference of LMCs today.
In a letter to Dr Bramall-Stainer sent yesterday, Mr Streeting said: ‘Ahead of Wednesday’s special conference of England LMCs, I am happy to reaffirm this government’s commitment to working with the GPC England to secure a new substantive GP contract within this Parliament, without preconditions, based on collaborative work, and in the spirit of mutual trust and good faith.’
He also praised the GPCE for its ‘collaborative and constructive’ engagement with this year’s contract ‘consultation’, saying he was ‘extremely pleased’ to reach a deal for the first time in four years.
‘We remain committed to fixing the front door of the NHS, building on the progress to date to deliver meaningful reform to establish a modern general practice at the heart of a neighbourhood health service,’ Mr Streeting added.
In a speech to GPs attending the LMC conference today, Dr Bramall-Stainer said the profession has been ‘neglected for far too long’, and that the Government’s pledge for a totally new contract shows that supporting GPs is a ‘top priority’.
But she said GPs still ‘need to see proof’ of the Government’s commitment to general practice in the upcoming 10-year plan for health and the Treasury’s spending review.
She said this morning in a message to GPs: ‘The work now begins towards a new substantive GP contract. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity.’
In a post on X, the BMA said: ‘GPC England has agreed to the 2025/26 contract changes after securing a written commitment from the Government to fully renegotiate the national contract within this parliament. We’re now out of dispute and working on next steps.’
The union also said that this is ‘just the start on the long road to recovery’, and urged GP practices to continue safe working and to ‘work with LMCs and re/negotiate local contracts that are under resourced or are required to fill gaps in service’.
Primary care minister Stephen Kinnock will today tell Pulse LIVE London attendees that GPs will be given ‘a central role’ as the future of the NHS is developed.
In a speech at the conference hosting hundreds of GP delegates, Mr Kinnock will say that ‘prioritising primary care’ is a ‘sensible’ way to relieve pressure on other struggling parts of a ‘broken NHS’.
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Jam tomorrow…
Despite no detail re future “new contract”, the BMA congratulates itself on Nothing….🙄…and calls off the dispute – is this really what GP contractors want?
Alas, poor GP, I knew it well….
Look forward to America plc owning the NHS
I think it was ‘alas poor GP I knew him Horacio’ – agree a letter promising the can has now officially been kicked down the road isn’t a project I’d invest money in
Why are Pulse reporting an 889m funding boost when it is not. I reckon about 7 our of the 31 retired indicators mean less work. But keeping up.the registers require work and. It’s not new money. We need to get this right. I’m fed up with all this smoke and mirrors doggy do…
And why not work up an alternative Plan B to fall back on when the inevitable “Jam” fails to materialise! Admittedly this is probably 15 years too late, however this is probably anathema to the BMA who feel it’s their role to prop up the NHS come what may! The vote to exclude GP from NIC rise costs just confirms the fact that we will always be taken for granted, a position that having a Plan B would not be the case.