Around a third of GP practices in Wales had a small windfall last year due to an accountancy error by the Welsh Assembly Government, with the money not due to be clawed back this year.
GPC Wales told Pulse that practices paid a global sum were overpaid by around £1 per patient, resulting in overpayments averaging between £5,000 and £6,000 per practice. The largest overpayment was around £11,000, but the extra amounted to less than one per cent of most practice budgets.
Dr David Bailey, chairman of GPC Wales,said: ‘We were halfway through the year, and we thought the global sum payment looked a bit large and notified the government, but it was picked up too late.
‘They decided they were legally obliged to pay it. They also said they would not be reclaiming it as the payments were made legally.'
Dr Bailey said that loss of the extra cash is likely to be compensated by the 0.5 per cent increase in contract price this year, paid through the QOF. The global sum payments have been corrected to £65.94 per patient this year.
