Doctors in the UK are to vote on the long-awaited GP contract next week, despite calls by GP representatives to delay the ballot by six months.

The decision by the BMA's General Practitioners' Committee (GPC) to send ballot papers to 43,000 UK GPs and GP registrars follows claims by Local Medical Committees earlier in the month that the contract still contained "disastrous flaws".

GPs were due to be balloted earlier in the year, but a flaw was discovered whereby as many as 70% of doctors would lose income under the new funding formula, which directly links pay to the level of services offered.

A Minimum Practice Income Guarantee (MPIG) was hastily negotiated by the BMA and the NHS Confederation, but many GP leaders and the NHS Alliance are still expressing concerns about the complex Carr-Hill formula.

The GPC says it has secured further improvements to the contract since then, with GPC Chairman Dr John Chisholm saying the contract is now "the right way forward for general practice".

"GPs asked for a new contract that was better for doctors and better for patients. I believe this contract delivers that", he said. "It meets the objectives laid down by the profession in the National Survey of GP Opinion, and it will deliver high quality care for patients. I urge every GP in the UK to use their vote. The future of general practice is in their hands".

Improvements include using lists of registered patients rather than national census data to calculate funding, and the removal of a financial penalty equating to around £7,500 per practice in 2004/5 for practices using the MIPG.

Doctors will now have until Friday 20 June to vote on whether they wish to see the new General Medical Services (GMS) contract implemented.

If accepted, the contract will come into force in April 2004, with an 11% pay increase introduced straight away to allow practices to prepare for the new Quality and Outcomes Framework. This evidence-based framework will encompass clinical and organisational standards, as well as patient experiences, and will be introduced next year.

The majority of GPs already operate under the GMS contract, but over a third use the Personal Medical Services (PMS) contract. These GPs will also be able to vote but the NHS Alliance has expressed concerns that they have not been given enough information about what a 'yes' vote would mean for them.

It says the Government needed to clarify whether PMS doctors returning to GMS would be eligible for the MPIG, if they will be offered the 11% pay rise and whether the Quality and Outcomes Framework would also apply to them.

pharmafocus@pharmafile.co.uk