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Actions following introduction of 2017/2018 GMS Contract

Actions following 2017/18 GMS Contract

The BMA outlines the main action points for Practices as negotiated by the GPC. 

In Summary: 

  1. Avoiding Unplanned Admissions DES was discontinued and £156.7 million added to the global sum. From July 2017 Practices have been required to have used an appropriate tool to identify individuals aged over 65 living with moderate and severe frailty. These patients will be required to receive an appropriate clinical and medication review as outlined in the guidance. 
  2. CQC fees will be reimbursed to Practices after payment via NHSE or CCG. 
  3. Indemnity costs paid to practices on a per patient basis. 
  4. Sickness cover reimbursement for GPs. From April 2017 this became a practice entitlement rather than a discretionary payment. The qualifying criteria based on list size was removed. Payments to be made after 2 weeks of a GP being absent due to sick leave. 
  5. Maternity cover reimbursement From April 2017 maternity payments were no longer subject to a pro-rata application. Practices only need to submit an invoice and either the full or maximum payable amount will be paid. 
  6. Learning Disabilities DES NHSE increased investment in the DES. 
  7. Expenses and Pay uplift A pay uplift of 1% was agreed to be added to the global sum. 
  8. QOF There were no changes to the indicators in QOF or the total number of points. 
  9. Core Opening Hours and Extended Hours DES New Conditions were introduced from October 2017 which mean that practices who regularly close for half a day, on a weekly basis, would not ordinarily qualify to deliver the Extended Hours DES. 
  10. Access to healthcare A new GMS1 form was introduced that will help to identify patients with a non-UK EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) or patients who may be subject to the NHS (Charges to Overseas) Regulations 2015. 
  11. National Diabetes Audit From July 2017 all practices are contractually required to allow collection of data relating to the NDA. 
  12. Data Collection From July 2017 it became a contractual requirement for all practices to allow extraction of data for a selection of agreed indicators no longer in QOF and ESs. 
  13. Registration of Prisoners From July 2017 prisoners are able to register with a practice before they leave prison. The intention was for the timely transfer of clinical information with an emphasis on medication history and substance misuse management plans. 
  14. Vaccination and Immunisations Several changes were agreed. More in the linked document. 
  15. GP Retention Scheme A new scheme replaced the existing one. Click here for a step-by-step guide. 

Published 24th January 2018