17:15 A spokesperson from NHS Employers said: ‘We have consistently and publically stated that the package of proposals on which the Department of Health are now consulting is consistent with where NHS Employers tried to take negotiations with the GPC last year. In those negotiations we sought to reach agreement on changes that significantly improve patient care and in particular, get more practices to deliver what the better practices already achieve.’
15:56 Health minister, Lord Howe, gives Government reaction to GPC dossier: ‘Our proposals are not about imposing new targets. They are designed to reduce the amount of administrative box ticking and to focus time and money more onto direct patient care. They would ensure more patients get access to high quality clinical care and have the potential to save more lives.’
15:27: Dr Michael Dixon, chair of the NHS Alliance, on the BMA’s survey findings that around one in four GPs feel they the contract changes will affect the time they have to engage with local CCGs: ‘That would be very sad. I think the future role of the GP is very much in improving local health. A role in the CCG is part of that. The BMA have been very good in saying that any bad feelings about the contract should not detract from the ethos of commissioning, but this is more practical - the amount of time will reduce.’
The proposed imposition is actually potentially going to be extremely bad for patients
Dr Peter Swinyard
14:59 Dr Peter Swinyard, chair of the Family Doctor Association, says the BMA are raising some ‘important points’. He told Pulse: ‘They are absolutely on message, as far as I am concerned. I think most of us realise that the proposed imposition is actually potentially going to be extremely bad for patients and have some unintended consequences of causing us to focus on patients that make us money, patients that come with QOF targets, rather than patients with conditions that are harder to measure but are much more important to treat. I think we have to remember that not all that is measurable is good and not all that is good is measurable.’ loloc
14:45 Dr Richard Fieldhouse, chief executive of the National Association of Non-Principals, on the survey results that show that around 30% of practices feel they have to cut down on locums because of the contract changes: ‘If I had a penny for every time I heard practices want to cut down on locums. It just never happens. Locums are not a luxury item – they are a necessity.’
14:00
@dhgovuk must learn mistakes spelt out by #Francis and pull back from#gpcontractimposition. bma.org.uk/gpcontract
— Richard Vautrey (@rvautrey) February 21, 2013
13:09
@thebma response to #QOF contract changes now released. bma.org.uk/working-for-ch… Service cuts, less holistic care, retirements and low morale.
— Gavin Jamie (@qofdatabase) February 21, 2013
12:58
“@pulsetoday: BMA contract: 54% of GPs say practice will have to reduce access to patients pulsetoday.co.uk/home/gp-contra…” Unintended consequences
— KS (@sidhuGP) February 21, 2013
12:20 GPC chair Dr Laurence Buckman said: ‘This huge package of changes fails to consider the cumulative impact of these proposals and includes suggestions which are simply not feasible in practice or would lead to unintended consequences. The changes would make it difficult for practices to maintain the level of care they currently offer while introducing an even greater focus on targets and box ticking at the expense of holistic, patient-centred primary care.’
12:12 Nearly 90% of GPs in England say they will be less able to provide good quality care as a result of the Government’s proposed contract deal for 2013/14, the BMA has warned in its official response to the consultation today. Click here to read full BMA response.
