19.03.18
Welsh GPs to get 1% pay increase in £12m deal
Officials from the Welsh Government have agreed a final pay deal with the BMA’s Welsh GP Committee (GPC Wales), which includes a 1% increase and a reduction to the contentious Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF).
The agreement sets out the terms of Welsh GP contracts for the 2018-19 period and comes in at a total cost of £11.7m, with 1.4% increase in general expenses on top of the pay uplift.
Dr Charlotte Jones, chair of GPC Wales, welcomed the “significant improvements” to the contracts and said she was confident that the changes would “deliver real benefits.
“This agreement provides much needed financial stability for practices through the indemnity offer and interim pay and expenses uplift, whilst awaiting the DDRB determination,” Jones commented.
“It will also protect practice resources so that they can be used on caring for patients. The reductions in bureaucracy and workload will also provide some much-needed respite for practices and clusters facing unprecedented demands.”
The use of QOF has been heavily criticised by many NHS bosses in England and Wales, including the BMA, which last year called for the system to be suspended to reduce some of the pressure on doctors.
In January 2017, the Welsh Government decided to relax the framework during the busy winter period, in a bid to give GPs more freedom.
But it has now decided to permanently strip back QOF to just effect disease registers, meaning there are less expected targets for staff.
In addition to this, the latest deal includes provision to support IT migrations from January next year and a commitment to look into health board employment benefits, in an attempt to improve recruitment.
Top image: Jax10289
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