A new contract for GPs is a “breakthrough moment”, the Health Secretary has said, as he admitted ending the 8am scramble for appointments is a “big challenge”. Wes Streeting said the new deal brings an end to the dispute GPs have had with the Government, which has seen them take “collective action” such as limiting the number of patients each doctor sees and stopping the “rationing” of referrals and investigations as requested by the NHS.
The new agreement for the 2025/26 financial year will see the total value of the GP contract grow by 7.2%. This includes money to cover rising costs, such as staff wages, repairs and maintenance of buildings and growing patient numbers. Through cutting what the Government says are “box-ticking targets”, ministers say GPs will be freed “to take the first steps to end the 8am scramble for appointments”.
Asked on GB News how he was going to fix the 8am rush for appointments, Mr Streeting said: “It’s a big challenge, as with most things in the NHS, but the fact that we’ve just agreed a deal with GPs on their contract and on the reforms that will deliver the end to the 8am scramble, actually the first time a contract has been signed with GPs since the pandemic, so this is bringing an end to that dispute GPs have had with Government, an end to collective action.
“This is a breakthrough moment that’s going to deliver real results for patients, because with this reform, and with this contract, comes the reform that will deliver online access appointment booking for patients up and down the country to bring the NHS into the 21st century, along with all the other services we have at our fingertips at the touch of a button.”.
He added that he promised in July to put 1,000 more GPs on to the front line by the end of March and now by the end of February there are “well over 900”. The British Medical Association (BMA), the trade union for doctors, and the Government agreed the new deal at a meeting on Thursday, which includes an extra £889 million in funding for the year 2025 to 2026.
Among the reforms is a requirement for GP surgeries to allow patients to request appointments online from October this year to free up phone lines for urgent inquiries. Targets such as those requiring practices to report on staff wellbeing meetings and explain how they are reviewing staff access to IT systems have been scrapped to enable doctors to spend more time treating patients.
GPs will also be incentivised to identify patients who would benefit most from seeing the same doctor at every appointment so that more people see their regular doctor at each consultation. The BMA’s GP Committee for England chairwoman Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer said previous governments had “driven general practice to desperation with patients bearing the brunt of years of chronic underfunding”, but the changes “mark a turning point”.
She said: “The green shoots of recovery will be seen when we start to see a fall in the numbers of practices being forced to close – closures that leave patients waiting far too long to see their GP.”. She added: “However, the Government must now recognise the imperative to deliver a new contract within the current Parliament for meaningful reform and vital investment.
“Only then can we keep the front door of our NHS open, provide timely patient care, and alleviate pressure across our entire health service.”. The changes will also help to “ease pressures” on other parts of the NHS, including A&E, the Department of Health said.
