The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7241 p388
22 March 2003

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GPs' new contract ballot put on hold

A ballot of general practitioners by the British Medical Association to find out whether they will accept a new contract has been delayed by financial concerns.

Both the BMA and the National Health Service Confederation, which is negotiating the contract on behalf of the Government, have been worried by reports that many practices will lose money and be destabilised under the new arrangements.

Concerns were raised after practices were sent figures to help them calculate their likely income under the new contract. In a joint press release, the BMA and the NHS Confederation said that large numbers of doctors had said that they would be worse off even if they achieved high quality scores. Investigations into the cause of the problem will centre on the complex formula used to calculate practice allocations and the patient list data on which it is based.

Mike Farrar, chairman of the NHS Confederation negotiating team said: "The delay to the ballot will enable us to work with the BMA to examine the concerns being raised by GPs."