According to a recent survey, more than three-quarters of GPs do not believe that the profession should give up its independent contractor status and become salaried by the NHS. Continue reading
GPs Reject Salaried Status
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CQC Registration Fees To Rise
The fees charged to GP practices by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) are set to rise by 2.5 per cent from April 2014, but could double in years to come as the organisation aims to recover the costs of regulation from registration fees. Continue reading
New Opening Hours For GPs
The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has unveiled a £50m pilot scheme for doctors’ surgeries to open until 8pm seven days a week in a bid to make the hours more convenient for patients and to take the pressure off overstretched A&E departments. Continue reading
Funding Disagreement
The British Medical Association (BMA) and NHS England are at loggerheads over GP funding, with the BMA calling for at least an uplift in line with inflation, while NHS England says that any uplift would have to be limited to a maximum of 1 per cent. Continue reading
Changes To GP Contracts
There will be major changes to GP contracts next year, including greater responsibility for out-of-hours care and a major reduction in box-ticking targets, according to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Continue reading
Proportion Of NHS Spend On General Practice Fell
New figures obtained from the Department of Health (DH) by the Health Service Journal (HSJ) reveal that the proportion of NHS funding spent on hospital care increased in the tax year 2012-13, while GPs’ share was slightly reduced. Continue reading
GPs Using Online Systems Will Get Extra Funding
GP practices that implement online appointments and use the internet for repeat prescription bookings or to access patients’ records, will be able to apply for extra Government funding. Continue reading
BMA To Support Revalidation
The British Medical Association (BMA) has said that it will continue to support revalidation despite there being no guarantees that NHS England will continue to fund remediation. Continue reading
Cash needed to avert crisis in general practice
A recent survey by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has found that 80 per cent of respondents said they have insufficient resources to provide high quality patient care, which the College said highlights a growing crisis in general practice. Continue reading
Pension Changes Could Cost GPs £80m
The British Medical Association (BMA) has warned that the new pension changes to be brought in in 2016 could cost GP practices around £80m a year in higher employer and employee National Insurance (NI) rates. Continue reading