Staff redundancies and closures

The BMA has branded the third annual England GP contract imposition as “regrettable,” warning of practice closures and staff redundancies.

In the GP contract in 2024/25, the offer includes a planning assumption of only 2 per cent for pay growth in the GP contract, although a further uplift may be made following the Government’s response to the DDRB for 2024/25.

From April the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rises by an average 15.2 per cent.

However, the contract promises five key benefits, according to NHSE:

Cut bureaucracy
Raise the QOF aspiration payment from 70 to 80 per cent plus Capacity and Access Improvement Payment (CAIP) changes
Include enhanced nurses in the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS)
Simplify the Directed Enhanced Service (DES) requirements
Review digital telephony system data.

Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chair of GPC England at BMA, said for this contract to match 2019/20 funding, it would need a 8.7 per cent uplift. Over a decade, practice income per patient has risen by £15. As a consequence, there are now 1,000 fewer practices and 2,000 fewer GPs – despite a rise of six million patients.

She said: “The Government and NHS England have demonstrated that rather than being the ‘stepping stone’ year to safety, stability, and hope, 2024 will instead mean … the business model of general practice is squeezed to non-viability and ultimately practice closures.”

England