New England GP leaders to prioritise GP funding uplift ahead of GMS reform
Exclusive The new BMA GP Committee chair will prioritise seeking a ‘significant’ GP funding uplift from the Government before going after wholesale GMS contract reform.
Former health secretary Wes Streeting had formally committed to renegotiating a ‘completely new’ national GP contract, but the previous GPC chair recently said that the promised wholesale GMS contract negotiations may be off the table as they were a ‘Wes Streeting commitment’ rather than a Government one.
Now Dr Clare Bannon, who was elected unopposed as the new chair of the committee last week, has told Pulse that ‘a completely new contract without funding isn’t going to work’ and that her priority is to push for a funding uplift before significant contractual change.
It comes after the Government asked the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to produce an ‘overall recommendation’ on replacing the formula for GP funding, which could include a departure from the existing approach. Pulse understands that the review has now concluded and is with the Department of Health and Social Care for consideration.
Dr Bannon said: ‘I think there’s huge problems with the funding formula, and obviously there’s the Car Hill review currently happening. But ultimately, what we really want is to see a significant uplift in core contract funding. We’re not currently getting enough funding to do the job. It has not risen sufficiently, even with inflation.
‘I think a completely new contract without funding isn’t going to work, and I think that’s the point. So it’s not that we don’t need contract reform. There does need to be an element of contract reform, but it’s got to be underpinned with the funding, and that’s what we’re going to be asking for.’
She also pledged to protect the GP partnership model, and said that it is ‘completely necessary’ that partnerships are protected within the neighbourhood health model.
The union recently said that the roles of PCNs and GP federations within the new model ‘remain unclear’, creating ‘considerable uncertainty’ and some ICBs have already chosen trusts – rather than GP practices – to lead their neighbourhood models.
And NHS England said that 2026/27 would be ‘a developmental year’ for the new contractual models despite the contracts initially being expected at the end of last year.
Dr Bannon said: ‘I think we are the most efficient part of the health service for one reason. It’s because of partnerships. We can make changes. We can do things differently. We can innovate, and that’s why we’re such an efficient part of the health service.
‘Neighborhoods can’t exist without GPs. GPs want to maintain the partnership model, so it’s critical that we bring those two things together and help guide the process.
‘We’re clear that general practice has to be at the heart of [the model]. I think when we’re talking about multi-neighborhood providers, we would like to see those through things like GP federations or groups of PCNs, so the practices are at their heart, and that they are being managed in a way that does support partnerships.’
She added that the BMA and GPC England will give ‘really clear guidance around that’ to ensure that GP practices are supported within the new structures.
‘What we’ll be doing over the coming weeks and months is making sure that practices know how to navigate things, maintain their autonomy, and are able to function and be supported and thrive in the new systems,’ she added.
