GPs are in uproar following the news that ARRS funding will not be available to any GP qualified for two years or more.
The updated PCN Directed Enhanced Service (DES) states that GPs who have been ‘substantively employed’ at any practice previously are ruled out of the expanded scheme, as are GPs ‘employed in a temporary capacity i.e. locums’.
Dr Chandra Kanneganti, chair of the British International Doctors’ Association, commented that the scheme was offering a salary that was 20 years out of date, and that the funding was ‘not new money’, not sustainable.
Andy Pow, a specialist medical accountant and board member for the Association of Independent Specialist Medical Accountants, welcomed funding but warned that ‘practically it won’t work’.
“The GP in my area would need to work across too many sites, spend huge amounts of time travelling and won’t be working with the same people day in day out… That’s not what they need at the start of their career,” he wrote on Twitter.
Dr Richard Fieldhouse, NASGP chair, said: “GPs have not asked for this. And nor are PCNs asking for newly qualified GPs to work as salaried locums on a five month contract.
“We know that PCNs need more funding for GPs, and PCNs know that they are in the best position on how to use any funding, and on whom.
“Extra funding is always welcome, even if it’s only for five months, but PCNs need to be given more trust when it comes to making the right decisions for their patients.”