GP contract agreed - New contact to give more time for patient care

24th December 2013

Scottish GPs will have more time to spend with patients after changes to their contact were given the green light.

The changes, agreed with BMA Scotland, aims to reduce bureaucracy and give doctors more time to focus on the needs of their patients.

Under the contract there will be a review of patient access to GP services across the country. The results will help Boards make any necessary improvements.

The contract also includes a new focus on quality and safety and will see GPs more involved in the integration of health and social care as well as the existing anticipatory care plans and patient safety.

Health Secretary Alex Neil said:“I am delighted that we have been able to agree this contract in partnership with GPs. It is only by listening to them that we can understand the pressures they feel and crucially how they can best meet the needs of patients.

“There are over 16.2 million GP consultations every year in Scotland, with patients having contact with their GP an average of 4.4 times in a year. We have a great opportunity at this time to make things better, and I believe this contract will benefit patients across Scotland.

“We recognise that GPs are at the heart of our vision for health care in Scotland, ensuring people are provided with quality care in their homes and communities and helping them live longer and healthier lives.

“This is further evidence of our move towards a more Scottish GP contract, reflecting the needs of patients in Scotland. I am pleased that we have been able to agree this direction of travel with GPs and look to build further on this specifically Scottish approach in the future.”

Currently the vast majority of the GP contract in Scotland is negotiated on a Scottish basis. This has allowed key elements of the contract to be tailored to respond to the public health needs of the Scottish population. The contract is worth over £500 million.

The vast majority of GP Practices in Scotland, operate as independent contractors under the NHS (General Medical Services Contract) (Scotland) Regulations 2004. As independent contractors they are contracted to provide general medical services by their local Health Board and funding is provided to a GP practice, not to individual GPs.

GP practices receive their funding through several major streams, in particular the Global Sum , the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), and Enhanced Services. Global / Core funding, covering the essential day to day services they must provide, includes weightings determined separately for Scotland, for age/sex, deprivation and remoteness and rurality, and is not simply based on a per patient basis. This accounts for approximately 50-55 per cent on average of a practice's current income in Scotland and reflects practice workload and complexity and the relative costs of service delivery.