Policy Hub
On 9 October 2008, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) published a report which contends that the new contract for general practitioners (GPs) in England, intended to deliver benefits by linking GPs' pay to their clinical performance, has so far failed to live up to expectations.
The report acknowledges that the contract has made some progress in linking GPs’ pay to performance and has also contributed to the increase in the number of doctors working in general practice. However, evidence suggests that the new pay for performance system made it too easy for GP practices to achieve high scores - resulting in their earning higher than expected levels of payment.
The report also argues that the Department of Health underestimated the cost of providing GP services such as out-of-hours care. The result was an overspend of £1.8 billion in the first three years since the changes were introduced.
The report finds that partners in GP practices are now putting in less time whilst their productivity has decreased. Only their pay is burgeoning, having increased on average by 58% since 2003.
NHS pay modernisation: new contracts for general practice services in England (PDF)