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New GMS contract - Investing in general practice

February 2003

The new contract is now available. See below for downloads or go here to read in plain text.

Investing in general practice - supporting information for Scotland

Letter from John Chisholm, Chairman GPC
26 February 2003

Dear colleague

Attached is the long-awaited new GMS contract document. I very much regret the problems with the process over the past few days that have held up its publication. However, I hope this will not detract from your careful consideration of the contract details themselves. We will shortly be sending out paper copies of the document to all GPs in the UK, followed by a further mailing containing a series of annexes, including detailed guidance on the quality and outcomes framework and descriptions and benchmark pricings for directed and national enhanced services.

From Monday 3 March, the negotiating team will be embarking on a series of roadshows around the country to explain the contract and answer GPs’ questions.

We will also be making arrangements for practices to contact the BMA for details of their practice weighted population, together with guidance as to how to calculate their global sums and how these relate to their present income. In addition, there will be help with assessing where they are on the quality ladder and this will assist them in calculating their potential rewards from the quality framework. Details relating to these matters will follow shortly.

In any negotiating process one sets high goals and it is inevitable that there is a degree of compromise on both sides. No contract can ever be perfect, particularly as we are trying to satisfy a variety of aspirations both within and outside the profession. That is one of the reasons why we will not be commending the contract to the profession. I do believe there are many good things in this document, not least, the very substantial investment in general practice that we have been able to guarantee for the next three years. However, this is your contract and it is for you as individual GPs to decide whether it has your support.

With best wishes

Dr John Chisholm
Chairman
General Practitioners Committee

- Letter from Mike Farrar, Chair NHS Confederation negotiating team - plain text version

- GMS Contract (PDF, 191kb)
- Annex A (PDF, 39kb)
- Annex B (PDF, 12kb)
- Annex C (PDF, 56kb)
- Annex D (PDF, 50kb)
- Annex E (PDF, 32kb)
- Letter from Mike Farrar, Chair NHS Confederation negotiating team (PDF, 16kb)