DAUK’s Dr Alison George told national TV viewers the agreed 2025/26 contract would ‘bring general practice back from the brink’.
Dr George was among members of our GP committee speaking in the media talking about the contract.
Members have been interviewed on TV, radio, and for online publications.
Contract announcement
Dr George, a GP based in Newcastle, told ITV Lunchtime News it was ‘a positive announcement’.
She said: “It will go some way towards repairing the damage that has been done to general practice over the past 14 or 15 years with the chronic underfunding and diktats from the Department of Health and NHS England.
“There is still someway to go. overall I think it is a positive announcement. It means we have space to move things forward and bring general practice back from the brink.”
Dr Lizzie Toberty, our GP lead, who is also based in Newcastle, was interviewed on national radio.
General practice
She told listeners to LBC’s Tom Swarbrick at Drive: “For many years, we’ve not seen an uplift in funding for general practice.
“Despite increases in the cost of living, increases in the amount of funding needed to pay staff, there hasn’t been an increase in the funding provided.
“And yet we’ve seen our population grow.
“General practice as a whole has been struggling to provide what our patients have needed.
“I think (the agreement) provides a glimmer of hope for GPs and patients alike.
“It’s the first day a contract has been agreed between our union and the government over the last four years which shows that both sides are working together to make things better.”
Running costs
Visit our Instagram page to listen to Dr Toberty speaking on LBC.
Dr Steve Taylor, our GP spokesperson and a GP based in Manchester, spoke to BBC Online
Dr Taylor said he feared much of the extra money will go towards national insurance contributions, staff, and running costs.
He said: “The new GP contract goes a small way to fix some of the significant issues for GP practices, in that it prevents further declines in funding with a small percentage increase.”
Dr Taylor was also quoted in GP Online.
He said: “’While there has been an acknowledgment of the need to invest in community services, a much larger investment will be needed to reverse the decline and build more capacity for the future. We look forward to seeing greater emphasis placed on GP provision in the future years.”
GPC England announced on Friday it had voted to accept the proposed contract. It includes an overall funding uplift of £969m for 2025/26, contingent on full renegotiation of the national contract within this parliament. Read the full headlines.
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