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GPs to pick and choose QOF work

Exclusive A third of GPs are planning to re-evaluate the QOF work they undertake as a result of the proposed contract changes being implemented in April 2013, a Pulse investigation has found.  

Under the changes, the Government proposes to reinvest funding from the organisational domain of QOF in to four new directed enhanced services, which GPs can implement in order to earn back the money lost by the removal of the old QOF work.

But almost a third of the 229 GPs surveyed said that their practices would not take on any of the four new DESs, thereby sacrificing £19,800 worth of funding to support their practices, according to BMA estimates.

READ THE FULL RESULTS FROM THE SURVEY HERE

Dr Stephen Amiel, a GP in Camden, is not surprised that GPs are refusing take on the extra work. He said: ‘GPs don’t have the resources to take on new work. GPs will only take on the new DESs if they think they will be more beneficial to their patients care than the things they will have to sacrifice in their place.’

A DH spokesperson told Pulse: ‘GPs are professionals and we expect them to rise to the challenge and improve the services they offer their communities.Many practices already achieve higher than all the upper thresholds so increasing themis necessary to incentivise GPs to raise standards. We are proposing to raise thresholds to a level which is achievable for the majority of practices and to continue to incentivise those at the lower end to improve.’

They added: ‘GPs should only get additional funding for the quality of services they offer and the QOF framework has always been– and remains - a voluntary incentive scheme.’