NHS Employers: Progress is being made
Thursday, 28 Feb 2008 11:55
The GP contract has begun delivering the benefits expected of it, NHS Employers believes.
The organisation responsible for negotiating the GP contract with the government claims a report published today by the National Audit Office (NAO) is "misleading".
It says expenditure has only been £406 million above that allocated by the government for spending over a three-year period, below the £1.76 billion figure quoted in the report.
NHS Employers' acting director Alastair Henderson pointed out the NAO said 11 of the contract's 13 original stated aims were already seeing progress made.
"The contract brought radical change, for the first time linking improvements in patient care to rewards for GPs in ways which are groundbreaking and have received international acclaim," he commented.
"Our challenge for the future is to ensure that the contract provides value for money through future changes and that PCTs make the most out of the opportunities it presents to extend the services GPs offer their patients."