The Department of Health has today announced agreement on the GMS
(General Medical Services) contract with GPs for 2024/25.
The contract has been welcomed by Health Minister as an important step towards
helping to stabilise GP services.
It will provide GPs with greater certainty over their income
throughout the year; reducing administrative burdens and
associated costs to practices; and providing dedicated funding to
practices for the costs of their indemnity.
Non-core elements of the GMS contract are subject to negotiation
on an annual basis, to ensure the contract reflects the needs of
the NI population and provides the basis for the continued
provision of high-quality GP services to patients here.
The representative body for GPs in Northern Ireland, the BMA's
Northern Ireland General Practitioners Committee (NIGPC), has
worked constructively with the Department to reach agreement on
an approach to the 2024/25 contract.
Despite the significant challenges facing the health budget, we
have been able to reach agreement within the existing GMS budget
envelope.
The Minister said: “This agreement of the GP contract for 2024/25
is very welcome news. GPs play a vital role in our Health
Service, and I have been clear since my return to office that
support for GPs and wider primary care is a key priority for me.
Stabilising GP services is of crucial importance and I believe
this contract is a step forward in that regard. There is, of
course, much more work to be done.
“Whilst the budget provided to me by the Executive does not allow
me to make a substantial increase in the overall value of the
contract, I am pleased that the agreement announced today makes
significant progress against key aims identified by GPs in their
negotiations, including provision of dedicated funding for their
indemnity costs. I would pay tribute to the constructive and
imaginative approach taken by NIGPC leadership throughout these
negotiations.”
Notes to editors:
1. The 20/25 GMS contract is
effective from 01 April 2024.
2. Key features of the
agreement include:
• QOF will be
replaced with a Clinical Care Domain in the NI Contract Assurance
Document, with the associated funding incorporated into the
‘core' GMS contract. GP practices will be required to provide
these services to their patients as clinically appropriate.
• A number of
specified Enhanced Services will also be moved into the Clinical
Care Domain of the NI Contract Assurance Document, with the
associated funding incorporated into ‘core' in the same way as
QOF.
• funding that is
provided for clinical waste will also be repurposed into core
funding.
3. The total funding that will be released as a result of the
above and available for re-purposing is £38.9million.
4. Of this, £5million will be dedicated to GP Indemnity, as an
interim measure, pending identification of the long-term model
for future provision.
5. The remaining £33.9million will be added to core Global Sum
payments made to practices based on April 2024 patient lists.
6. Assurance over the required level of care being delivered to
patients will be provided through the new NI Contract Assurance
Framework (NICAF).
