The 2024 GP contract being developed next year could represent the biggest changes to general practice in England since 2004, Pulse reports.
LMCs will debate its future in a closed-door session at the annual LMCs conference on 24-25 November.
Proposals in the agenda include:
- Removal of home visits from the core contract.
- Funding calculations to allow for GP remuneration at a commensurate rate to the cost of GP locums.
- A study on ‘the feasibility of general practices transitioning to a privatised “dental” model’, proposed by Gloucestershire LMC.
- Abolition of practice lists, proposed by Devon LMC.
Dr Richard Fieldhouse, chair of NASGP, says: “With so many GPs choosing not to work as a signatory to the GP contract, maybe as well as trying to redefine its contents we might also want to thoroughly explore alternatives.
“Having a one-size-fits-all contract solves some problems but it creates others. What may be needed is different contracts to give more flexibility within how general practice operates across the country.
“To have reached the point where we are considering adopting contracts similar to dentists clearly shows how desperate this has become.”
