The National Association of Primary Care, on behalf of its PMS membership, would like express its disappointment that today’s guidance on non-GMS contracting arrangements for 2006/7 was issued without prior consultation or discussion with the Association, which has vigorously supported over the years the introduction and implementation of PMS and its variations.
NAPC strongly reaffirms its belief in the value of local contracts between practices and PCTs to support the delivery of local services tailored to meet the needs of local people. It is right therefore that PMS contracts should be locally negotiated and agreed, and there should be a fair allocation of resource for the work that is delivered through such contracts.
Dr Johnny Marshall, Treasurer of NAPC, commented: ‘Primary care contracts, in general, are not very sophisticated in rewarding quality of care – this is as true of GMS contracts as it is of PMS contracts. Locally negotiated contracts, however, may be more sensitive to the needs of local populations’. Dr Marshall continued: ‘Our Association has grave concerns about those PCTs which may contemplate costly legal action rather than local negotiation in order to challenge current practice funding arrangements, particularly as we believe this latest set of guidance is driven largely by the NHS’ current deficit. The delivery of the objectives in the recent White Paper is dependant upon stronger partnerships between practices and PCTs, and the threat of legal action will do nothing to further such relationships’.
‘Rather than seeking to constrain PMS back towards GMS’, Dr Marshall explained, ‘ we should be looking to develop PMS further and expand SPMS delivery to support the co-ordination of local patient focused health services that deliver value for money and support those in greatest need’.
The Association’s Chairman Dr James Kingsland added, ‘we must remember that PMS contracting defined the principles by which the nGMS contract was developed, so that all patients could enjoy similar benefits as those being delivered by PMS practices. Any new Directions from the DH should recognise the significant improvement in care that many PMS practices have delivered’.
The NAPC will be publishing examples of this in the near future.
Contact details for NAPC Executive Members are as follows:
Dr Johnny Marshall: 07802 946196
Dr James Kingsland: 07887 894124
Dr Howard Freeman: 0207 636 7228
Dr Derek Hopper: 07885 301763
