This site is intended for health professionals only


GPs to vote on practices being paid per patient contact

GP representatives from across the UK will vote on whether the BMA should negotiate for payments in the GP contract to ‘reflect numbers of patient contacts’.

The motion will be debated and voted on at the UK LMC conference 2019, which will be held in Belfast next month.

GP leaders have also called for the contract to ensure practices are still paid for patients who die before the end of a quarter.

Other motions which will be debated include:

  • A call for health screening only being allowed to take place with the approval of the UK National Screening Committee, with private screening providers having to provide follow up appointments with patients to discuss abnormal results
  • A push for a radical overhaul for GP training, with GP trainees to spend most of their time in general practice
  • Whether primary care networks will undermine the autonomy of GPs.

The payment motion, to be proposed by Mid Mersey LMC, said: ‘That conference demands that payments in any GP contract should: (i) reflect numbers of patient contacts undertaken as well as list size (ii) ensure that practices receive payment for registered patients who die before the end of a quarter.’

This comes after the new five-year GP contract was released earlier this month. As part of this, GPs will see a 1.4% funding uplift for general practice and a state-backed indemnity deal covering all practice staff.

The global sum will also rise by 92p per patient, a move which medical accountants said may not sound like much, but combined with the changes to indemnity and the addition of the £1.76 per patient for joining a network, is a step in the right direction