Read a round-up of the reaction to next year’s GP contract deal in England.
‘We have been calling for this for three years and are pleased that the Government and the BMA have been able to reach a solution that is workable for doctors and, most importantly, focuses our time on improving the care that our patients want and deserve.’
RCGP chair Professor Clare Gerada
‘If you want to take a global view of the settlement, I would say it is a good settlement for patient care.’
Family Doctor Association chair Dr Peter Swinyard
‘The NAPC welcomes the return of professionalism to those who deliver primary care. We now need to work together to assist practices and all those who deliver services to people to take full advantage of the new liberties we have to deliver the best to our people and populations.’
NAPC chair Dr Charles Alessi
‘The changes are a key part of the transformation that is needed to ensure we have a health and social care service that works as one around the needs of patients, providing the right care every time.’
Dame Barbara Hakin, chief operating officer and deputy chief executive at NHS England
‘So we’re talking about having to take unscheduled care requests from a third party to provide information? When I’m in an area of the country that hasn’t even funded remote access to my computer. So if I’m off on home visiting, it’s sort of saying I’ve got to have committed them to memory, because there’s no way I can answer them.’
Dr Andrew Mimnagh, urgent care lead at Sefton CCG
‘We will all be pleased to see QOF reduced. It consists of far too many moveable hoops to jump through, although overall I believe QOF has improved the quality of care. However the constant changes make it difficult to keep up with the latest requirements. QOF points unfortunately tend to be more about the ability to tick boxes than patients’ real needs.’
Dr Kathy Crisp, GP in Ascot
