GPs furious with GMS contract imposition

GPs in Northern Ireland have reacted angrily to a decision by the health minister to impose a financial settlement that had been overwhelmingly rejected just last week.

Health minister Mike Nesbitt told the Northern Ireland Assembly that the general medical services contract on offer for 2025-26 was ‘at the limit of what I can do’ and that negotiations had reached an end point.

‘In financial terms, the cupboard is bare, and there is no point in pretending I can serve up a sumptuous three-course meal,’ he said.

‘There is nothing to be gained from further contract negotiations which would only offer false hope that a better offer might be forthcoming; it won’t be.’

Last week, BMA Northern Ireland announced that almost all (99.6 per cent) of GPs who took part in a referendum on the contract offered by the Department of Health rejected it.

Frances O’Hagan, chair of the BMA Northern Ireland GPs committee said it the first time a sitting health minister in Northern Ireland had chosen to impose the GMS contract on GPs.

‘To say we are shocked and angry at this decision would be an understatement.

‘We have been warning for well over a decade now that general practice cannot continue in the way it has been – trying to meet increasing demand with fewer GPs and insufficient resource, leading to collapse by contract hand backs and closure.

‘Rather than trying to address this imbalance, the minister seems content with the status quo to continue. All GPs want to do is deliver a service to their patients that meets their needs. The funding we require would not only do that, but it would also provide the level of access they deserve, and we want to give. The contract being imposed by the minister will not allow us to do that.’

Mr Nesbitt said in the Assembly that he was mindful of the financial pressures GPs face, and that his offer had been the best he could do.

Dr O’Hagan said the GP committee had asked the health department for a credible financial investment in general practice, that would help stabilise the service, keep GPs in post and stem the tide of contract hand-backs.

‘The results of our referendum were extremely clear: 99.6% of GPs do not think the contract offer that is now being imposed is enough to stabilise or save general practice in Northern Ireland. We will now consult with our members to decide the next steps.’