GPs to be paid extra £10 per Covid jab for care home residents

GPs will receive an extra £10 for every Covid vaccine dose they give to care home residents or staff, on top of the £12.58 item-of-service fee, NHS England has said.

The extra payment has been agreed due the ‘additional time and resources needed’ to deliver the vaccination programme in care homes, it added.

Vaccination sites in the first three waves of the programme are being asked to ‘prioritise wherever possible’ care home residents and staff to ensure they are vaccinated against the coronavirus ‘as quickly as possible’, said NHS England in an email bulletin to GPs today.

The extra payment will be paid on completion of the second dose for all vaccines administered between 14 December and 31 January.

However, in exceptional circumstances, GPs will still be paid the supplement for one jab if it is not possible to give a second dose. This is the same arrangement as for the item-of-service fee.

In today’s email bulletin NHS England said: ‘We have asked all wave 1, 2 and 3 local Covid vaccination sites to prioritise wherever possible care home residents and staff to ensure this priority group are vaccinated against the coronavirus as quickly as possible. 

‘We appreciate the additional time and resources needed to deliver this complex vaccine in a care home setting, especially at such a busy time of the year.

‘Therefore, we will be providing an additional supplement of £10 per dose on top of the item of service fee for all vaccines delivered in a care home setting.’

Earlier this year Pulse revealed GPs would be paid an item-of-service fee of £12.58 per Covid vaccination jab administered – which was expected to make the work ‘cost neutral’ for practices.

Earlier this week NHS England confirmed GP networks leading vaccination sites are able to access additional staff for free to support the delivery of the Covid vaccine in care homes.