Focus on GP Contract Payments 2015/16
Payments to GP contractors will change from 1 April 2015 to reflect negotiated contract changes and the Government’s acceptance of the Doctors and Dentists Review Body recommendation for contractor GPs.
2015/16 Doctors and Dentists Review Body (DDRB) recommendation
The DDRB recommended that GPs should receive a 1 per cent increase in pay in 2015/16. This recommendation was made in respect of net income. The Government has used a formula previously employed by the DDRB to calculate the gross uplift to GP contracts it believes is necessary to achieve this net outcome. On the basis of this calculation, the overall value of the GMS contract will be increased by 1.16 per cent. All of this increase will be applied through global sum payments. PMS and APMS practices will receive equivalent increases.
2015/16 increase to global sum
On 1 April 2015, the global sum price per weighted patient will increase from £73.56
(2014/15) to £75.77 – an increase of 3 per cent.
This increase is a result of:
- the phasing out of the Minimum Practice Income Guarantee (MPIG) and reinvestment of a further 1/7th of the value of correction factor funding into global sum
- changes to enhanced services and subsequent reinvestment into global sum (the
- patient participation scheme and alcohol risk reduction scheme have ended)
- a gross uplift to contract payments of 1.16 per cent following implementation of the DDRB’s recommendation (see above). As all of this total uplift is applied through the global sum, global sum payments will increase by 1.7% for this reason alone.
For this year only, there will be a further increase in the GMS global sum price per
weighted patient on 1 October to reflect changes to the seniority scheme and reinvestment
of this funding.
QOF points
The pound per point value of QOF will increase from £156.92 (2014/15) to £160.15 in 2015/16. This reflects population growth and relative changes in practice list size.
Out of hours ‘opt out’ deduction
The out of hours (OOH) ‘opt out’ deduction will not apply to the reinvestment of MPIG, enhanced services and seniority funds. As a result, the percentage value of the OOH deduction for opted out GMS practices will reduce from 5.46 per cent (2014/15) to 5.39
per cent in the first half of 2015/16.
Like global sum, for this year only, the OOH deduction will change again on 1 October 2015 to reflect seniority changes.
Uplifts for PMS and APMS practices
NHS England has published guidance for Area Teams and CCGs instructing them to take a consistent and equitable approach to uplifts for PMS and APMS practices. PMS and APMS practices will receive increases equivalent to the GMS increases for those changes that impact on their contracts.
The following table is taken from the NHS England guidance for commissioners.
GMS, PMS and APMS £/weighted patient increases to core funding 2015/16
| GMS | PMS | APMS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MPIG Reinvestment | £0.55 | - | - |
| ES Reinvestment | £0.41 | £0.41 | £0.41 |
| Inflation Uplift | £1.25 | £1.25 | £1.25 |
| Total Uplift | £2.21 | £1.66 | £1.66 |
