GP leaders in Wales have voted unanimously to reject the Welsh Government’s offer for the GMS contract for the current financial year, as they said it ‘fails’ to provide a ‘credible and sustainable future’ for general practice.
The BMA’s Welsh GP committee said that following ‘a series’ of contract negotiations meetings with the Government and NHS Wales, the union received a ‘final’ offer in ‘the last few days’.
However, it said that the offer ‘does not align’ with their expectations ‘in any way’ and that it does not ‘demonstrate action’ towards tacking the critical issues facing Welsh general practice.
At an extraordinary meeting on Monday evening, GPC members voted unanimously in favour of rejecting the offer, which will be put to Welsh GPs who are members of the BMA – including GP partners, sessional GPs and GP registrars – in a referendum later this month.
Pulse understands that the full details of the Government offer will be shared with members during the referendum.
GPC Wales said it ‘cannot endorse this sub-standard offer’, but added that the Government ‘has made it clear’ that there is ‘no more to be achieved’ by negotiation.
BMA’s Welsh GP committee chair Dr Gareth Oelmann said: ‘The decision to disregard the serious concerns and valuable contribution of general practice once again in Wales is beyond insulting, it is dangerous, leaving more surgeries and their patients in peril.
‘We are deeply concerned that this offer will leave more practices with no option but to close their doors. GP practices are being denied the resources they need to deliver vital services to the population.
‘For years, the service has been starved of adequate funding which has led to the closure of 100 surgeries since 2012. This is having a devastating impact on general practice.
‘A recent survey of our members showed that 91% of GPs are routinely unable to meet patient demand due to unsustainably high workloads.
‘With 100 fewer surgeries for patients to turn to, GPs are now seeing up to 35% more patients each, causing unsustainably high workloads and burnout with doctors being expected to do more with less, risking patient safety. How long can this continue?’
Dr Oelmann added that general practice is the foundation of a ‘high-quality’ and ‘cost-effective’ health system, but successive governments ‘have insisted on ignoring’ the vital role general practice plays in the national health service.
‘Welsh Government had an opportunity to change the current trajectory but has failed to do so. It is now up to GPs to decide what happens next,’ he added.
The contract negotiations for the current financial year had encountered several delays and Welsh GPs said they were ‘actively evaluating all available options’ for dispute against the Government due to the delays.
Contract negotiations for 2023/24 were also delayed and ended without agreement in February, as practices received a 4.4% funding uplift backdated to April 2023, which the GPC said was ‘sub-inflationary’ and ‘inadequate’.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: ‘Investing in high-quality primary care services that people can access closer to home is a priority for us.
‘General practice has a critical part to play within this model, and we want to keep working with GPs to deliver accessible services that work for local communities.
‘Our offer to BMA Cymru Wales meets the pay review body recommendation and builds on increasing investment over several years.
‘We are keen to see staff working in general practice get their pay uplift as soon as possible, coupled with changes to the service that will improve patient care.’
Last month, the Welsh Government accepted recommendations from the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) on GP pay in full, following several delays.
At the end of July, the DDRB recommended a 6% pay increase for GPs in all of the four nations, including salaried and contractor GPs.
Last week, the BMA warned the Welsh Government not to ‘forget the crucial role played by GPs’, after it announced a £28m investment into secondary care.
