View all news

Changes to the GP contract in 2023/24

On 6 March NHS England published a letter to all GP practices and primary care network (PCN) clinical directors in England setting out the changes that will take place to the GP Contract in 2023/24, setting out the requirements of general practice and PCNs with the goal of improving patient experience and satisfaction.

The changes highlighted in the letter include:

Access

  • Ensuring patients should be offered an assessment of need or signposted to an appropriate service at first contact with the practice.
  • Make it easier for patients to access their healthcare information online.
  • Require all practices once their current telephony contracts expire to procure their telephony solutions from a recommended supplier framework.

Investment and impact fund (IIF) and quality and outcomes framework (QOF)

  • Reduction in the number of IIF indicators from 36 to five
  • Remaining IIF funding to be focussed on improving patient experience of contacting their practice and receiving a response with an assessment and/or being seen within an appropriate period.
  • Development of access improvement plans
  • 25% reduction in the number of QOF indicators
  • QOF quality improvement (QI) modules to focus on workforce wellbeing and optimising demand and capacity in general practice

Additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS)

  • Addition of advanced clinical practitioner nurses to the roles eligible for reimbursement as advanced practitioners
  • Addition of apprentice physician associates
  • Increasing the cap on advanced practitioners to three per PCN
  • Removal of caps on mental health practitioners

Immunisations and vaccinations

  • Removal of the vaccination and immunisations repayment mechanism for practice performance below 80%
  • Changes to childhood vaccination and immunisation thresholds
  • No additional requirements to PCN service specification in 2023/24

Other highlights:

  • Further details are expected shortly on the delivery plan for recovering access to primary care (to include further support for practice and PCNs on improving patient experience and satisfaction)
  • The profession and patient representative groups are to be consulted on the QOF and its future form.

Further details on the changes including a revised Network directed enhanced service (DES) specification will be published shortly.

Last Updated on 9 March 2023