Holyrood hears new GP contract protest

A petition protesting against ‘the potentially disastrous effects’ of the new GP contract had its hearing last Thursday at the Scottish Parliament.

The new contract, which came into force on April 1, was negotiated by the British Medical Association and the Scottish Government, and agreed by the GP workforce.

It aims ‘to set a new direction for general practice in Scotland’, improving access for patients, addressing health inequalities and reducing GP workload by expanding the primary care multidisciplinary team. Its first phase introduces a new workload allocation formula (WAF), which determines how much money GP practices get.

But many GPs from remote and rural areas, such as the Rural GP Association of Scotland (RGPAS), voiced concerns that the WAF ‘seemed heavily weighted against rural communities’. Many Argyll residents are also concerned the WAF has ‘the potential to reduce services and funding in rural areas’.

A petition, lodged by Karen Murphy, Jane Rentoul, David Wilkie, Louisa Rogers and Jennifer Jane Lee, calls on ministers to ‘adjust the WAF urgently in light of the new contract proposals to guarantee that both primary and ancillary services are, at least, as good as they are now in all areas so patients do not experience a rural and remote postcode lottery in relation to the provision of health care’.

The petitioners have also asked for a strong rural and remote GP representation on a working group which is being set up by the Scottish Government to ‘ensure the contract is delivered in a way that works well for rural communities and look at what more can be done to support rural general practice’.

The committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government and the Rural GP Association of Scotland, and to draw the petition to the attention of the health and sport committee.