GPs have proposed a payment-per-contact model for the national contract, Pulse reports.
Members of the BMA’s GP Committee, which negotiates the national GP contract, revealed their proposals as part of a panel discussion.
GPs in England are currently working under a contract agreed in 2019, due to expire in 2024.
“The current funding model clearly isn’t working. We are not retaining, people are feeling burned out and the workload has expanded,” GPC England chair Dr Farah Jameel said.
Dr Richard Fieldhouse, NASGP chair, said: “This is an interesting proposal: a funding model that actually starts with the patient. There will of course be more to it than each contact, with time spent managing each contact also needing to be factored into the equation, and quality – not just quantity – another vital consideration.
“It may also play a part in helping locums to work out a rate based on number of patient encounters, rather than the traditional hourly- or sessional rate.”