Regulations

NHS England GP Contract documents

Global sum allocation formula - a reminder from the BMA how funding for GMS practices is calculated using the Carr-Hill formula, and what is taken into account.

GMS Contract 23/24

Update to GP Contract 23/24

Please click here to view our dedicated page for the GP Contract Updates to 2023 / 2024.

NHSE have a suite of documents covering the contract for 23/24 that can be seen at https://www.england.nhs.uk/gp/investment/gp-contract/

For ease of navigation, the following links go direct to the documented sections

The BMA have also published guidance on the changes to the GP Contract 23/24 and have run a number of webinars on this topic. The webinar recording is also available on the contract webpage. See https://www.bma.org.uk/pay-and-contracts/contracts/gp-contract/gp-contract-changes-england-202324

Regulation update 2023 - Access

It is worth noting that there is an update to the GMS Regulations this year (2023) around access. The NHSE letter says that it "will make clear that patients should be offered an assessment of need, or signposted to an appropriate service, at first contact with the practice. Practices will therefore no longer be able to request that patients contact the practice at a later time”. The BMA/GPC England say that whilst they agree with the aspiration of this amended regulation, it believes that this requirement is not achievable for many practices with current resource and workforce.

We would strongly recommend that you look at this requirement in more detail on the BMA webpage - GP Access and meeting the reasonable needs of patients. It highlights what the regulations will now say and also how this may affect safe working guidance.

GMS Contract 22/23

Please visit our dedicated webpage for updates to the GP Contract 22/23

On 1 October 2022, the following changes to the GMS and PMS Contract Regulations and APMS Directions came into force:

changes regarding premises requirements where services are provided remotely
expansion of the provisions regarding the disclosure of information about NHS earnings and confirmation of the disclosure date for self-declaration submissions
removal of the requirement that 25% of appointments are available for online booking, replaced with a requirement that all directly bookable appointments are able to be booked online, as well as in person or via the telephone.
the ability for patients to register digitally is now supported.

GMS Contract 2021/22

Please visit our dedicated webpage for updates to the GP contract 20/21

GMS/PMS Regulation Amendments (No.2) 1st October 2021 Summary

The following amendments were made to the GP contract from 1 October 2021:

The introduction of a requirement for the disclosure of information about NHS earnings which will begin for individuals who have NHS earnings of over £150,000 in 2019-20. Further information is available in the general practice pay transparency guidance.
Changes to the process of registering with a GP practice for Crown Servants posted overseas and their family members.
The removal of the requirement for individual patient consent when moving a patient with an electronic repeatable prescription on to electronic repeat dispensing.
New requirements regarding the digital offer which all practices must provide to patients.
The introduction of exemption confirmation requests for patients who should not be tested for, or vaccinated against, coronavirus.
A requirement for the transfer of patient records between GP practices within 28 days of receiving the request.

There is a slide set with more detail on these amendments that can be downloaded here.

GMS/PMS Contracts Services Agreements (Amendment No.2) Regulations 2020

Richard Vautrey of the BMA summarised the amendments as follows: -

GMS and PMS regulations changes from October 2020 (England)

The amendments to GMS and PMS regulations in England to commence from October 2020 have now been published. These mainly brought into force elements of the GP contract agreement from earlier in the year. The amendments include:

requirement for monthly data submissions to the NHS Digital Workforce Collection
requirement to participate in the existing GP appointments data collection
requirement for practices to ensure patient registration data is regularly updated
removal of patients who move outside of the practice catchment area: the practice is responsible for the patient’s care for up to 30 days (unless and until the patient registers at another practice) but is not responsible for home visits or out of hours services during that period.
a modification to make sure that patients who have previously been removed from a practice list and been put onto a violent patient scheme cannot be permanently refused readmission to a practice list if they have been correctly discharged from that scheme.
patient assignment to any practice within the patient’s local CCG, rather than within the practice area.
patient assignment as part of a list dispersal
an exemption to the ban on subcontracting a subcontract in order to allow PCNs greater flexibility to deliver the DES
final cancellation of CQC registration is a ground for termination of a GMS contract
other minor amendments to wording without significant change to the meaning

GP Contract Agreement 2020/21

NHSE published the Update to the GP Contract 20/21-23/24 This is an update to Investment and Evolution. NHSE&I has also published a letter detailing the financial implications of this update.

We have a dedicated page for the 2020/21 update to contract at: - https://www.wessexlmcs.com/updatetogpcontract20212324

GP Contract Agreement 2019/20

The BMA’s GP committee reached a contract agreement with NHS England spanning five years, which introduced widespread changes aimed at addressing both the workforce and workload pressures experienced by GPs in England, and improving services for patients by beginning to realise ambitions laid out in the NHS Long-Term Plan.

The contract gave practices almost £1bn across five years, while another £1.8bn investment to support the formation of Primary Care Networks, in which practices work together to provide care to patients across a wider geographic area.

NHSE GP contract 2019/20