Criticisms over Welsh GP contract

A Welsh assembly committee has said the new contract for GPs has not yet delivered value for money.

The new general medical service contract has increased costs by 44 per cent on the previous contract.

And GPs saw their wages rise by an average of 25 per cent in the first two years of the contract, while also having their working hours reduced.

But while the audit committee said that some benefits had been delivered, it added that more needs to be done to ensure it improves access, outcomes and performance management.

The AMs concluded that the "rigour and quality" of local health board checks on GPs to ensure that they are meeting targets is variable.

Committee chairman David Melding said: "The new contract has delivered some benefits for patients in Wales, but more needs to be done to ensure that all the potential benefits are realised, or it will not represent value for money.

"There is inconsistency in contract management across Wales, with some important checks not happening. This is unacceptable."

Conservative health spokesman Jonathan Morgan said that while his party backed the new contract, "it is clear that there are several shortcomings affecting patient care".

"The cost of the contract has clearly far exceeded initial estimates, a fact which calls into question the competence of the assembly government during its negotiations," he added.

"It is also clear that there are still difficulties in recruiting GPs in certain areas, not least the South Wales valleys.

"We also need to look again at out of hours provision and whether the money for these services should be retained by doctors so they have responsibility for how the work is delivered."

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Jenny Randerson described the report as "a damning indictment of the government's monitoring of how the new contracts were planned, designed and implemented".

"Though the GP contract has clearly brought some benefits to Wales, the report is clear that it is not providing value for money," she said.

"The assembly government are not properly monitoring and checking the level of value being provided. They need to tighten up on this considerably."