Briefing on GP Contract 2022/23 - message from Dr Michelle Drage
Thursday 10 March 2022
Dear Colleagues,
Briefing on GP Contract 2022/23
As you will now be aware, despite lengthy negotiation no agreement was reached on changes to the national contract for 2022/23. Negotiations between NHS England and GPC England were part of the five year ‘deal’ agreed in 2019 and on 1 April we will enter year four of that deal. Despite the challenges we have all faced over the past two years there has been no willingness from government, or its agency NHS England, with whom the GPC negotiates, to address any of the severe issues for GPs that have arisen during the pandemic - for them it is as if nothing has happened. A five year deal is a five year deal. And so the contract has been amended and imposed on the profession. You can see our comments and thoughts on the measures contained in the new contract update here:
This contract update has been forced on general practice despite the unparalleled success of the Covid vaccination programme; record-breaking appointments being delivered to patients; extraordinary workforce constraints, and workload concerns. Similarly global events and the stress of the current geopolitical threat resulting in migrants and asylum seekers reaching our shores in need of general practice care have not led to any change in approach.
In recent weeks we have seen an increase in GP-bashing in the media. One article in particular in the Sunday Times (not one of the usual suspects) has increased anxiety amongst our colleagues with bold statements about vertical integration and the future of general practice. Whether this is an innocent article, albeit raising the prospect of an existential threat to general practice as we know it (not just the partnership model, but the very philosophy of continuity care, holistic, relational and longitudinal), or kite flying and deliberate dis-information designed to make us feel threatened, there is a pattern developing of public facing messaging framing GPs as indolent, incompetent, or inconvenient.
The same week we saw NHS England unilaterally impose contract changes on general practice, right-leaning think tank Policy Exchange published a new report with a proposal to reform general practice and enable digital healthcare at scale, challenging the independent contractor model. It is unclear whether this represents Secretary of State for Health, Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP's “Independent Review of General Practice”, but Mr Javid wrote a warm foreword. Time will tell whether this is an innocent albeit “wonky” kite, or a vision of things to come. You decide. Both are nasty.
Regardless of what Ministers, think tanks or commentators think, one thing is clear: your elected LMC members are here to represent you and the Londonwide team are on your side. Please continue to let us know your thoughts on what this means for you, your practice, and your profession.
With best wishes
Dr Michelle Drage MBBS FRCGP
CEO, Londonwide LMCs
National Data Opt-Out to be introduced alongside the GDPR in May (16 Mar 2018)
The Government has announced that the national data opt-out will be introduced alongside the GDPR on 25 May 2018. It has also been agreed to present the national data opt-out...CQC update on the 2017/18 Data Security and Protection Requirements (16 Mar 2018)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has issued an update on the nine requirements for general practice from the 2017/18 Data Security and Protection Requirements. The Department of Health has...GDPR – further guidance now available (16 Mar 2018)
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force on 25 May 2018 when it replaces the UK Data Protection Act 1998. The GDPR is significant and wide-reaching in...Tips of the Month March 2018 (16 Mar 2018)
We provide weekly tips based on common queries which come through to us from London GPs and practice teams. These are shared via social media and collated for...CQC inspections and Significant Event Analysis (15 Mar 2018)
Our GP support team have seen an increase in the number of ‘Inadequate’ and ‘Requires Improvement’ CQC reports which identify the lack of awareness, discussion and/or documentation of Significant Event...GPC update on type 2 certificate deadline (28 Feb 2018)
Dr Krishan Aggarwal, Deputy Chair of the GPC’s Sessional Subcommittee has sent the following message out to GPs: “As you may be aware, the deadline for submission for the...Londonwide LMCs' February 2018 newsletter (22 Feb 2018)
Join our new Londonwide LMCs' Buying Group (21 Feb 2018)
We are delighted that so many practices have joined our new Londonwide LMCs’ Buying Group. The group will give registered London practices unique discounts on key products and services. ...Practice finance event Q and A summary (20 Feb 2018)
Our sold-out practice finance workshops in January provided the opportunity for GPs and practice staff ask questions to a number of experts and organisations; we have summarised some of these...Department of Health and Social Care rejects merger of Community Health Partnerships and NHS Property Services (19 Feb 2018)
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has rejected the proposed merger between NHS Property Services (NHSPS) and Community Health Partnerships (CHP), which was one of the recommendations of...Guidance
We provide expert guidance for practices in our guidance section, as well as an archive of other materials you may find useful.
GP Support
Contact our GP Support team if you need help or advice.
The team provide professional and pastoral support to GPs and practice teams on a broad range of issues.