GP surgeries will be offered financial incentives to ensure patients see the same doctor at every appointment under new Government proposals.
Family doctors who identify the most patients with high blood pressure while working to tackle killers like heart disease will also be given cash, according to the plans.
The measures form part of the new GP contract for 2025/26, which has been backed by an additional £889 million on top of the existing budget for general practice.
Reforms will also aim to slash the number of performance targets that GPs must meet, allowing them to spend more time with patients, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.
It is clear the system is broken, which is why we are slashing red tape, binning outdated performance targets, and instead freeing doctors up to do their jobs
Health Secretary Wes Streeting vowed to “fix the front door” to the health service with additional investment in general practice and once again called on family doctors to end collective action.
He said: “General practice is buckling under the burden of bureaucracy, with GPs filling out forms instead of treating patients.
“It is clear the system is broken, which is why we are slashing red tape, binning outdated performance targets and instead freeing doctors up to do their jobs.
“We promised to bring back the family doctor, but we want to be judged by results – not promises. That’s why we will incentivise GPs to ensure more and more patients see the same doctor at each appointment.”
At the moment, GPs must perform against targets in order to receive financial incentives under the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF).
The Government plans to reduce the number of targets from 76 to 44 to free up doctors’ time.
It comes after Mr Streeting announced a so-called red tape challenge in October, which aims to slash the amount of paperwork GPs needed to do to refer patients.
In the New Year, primary and secondary care leaders will report to Mr Streeting and NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard with proposals to reduce admin work and unnecessary targets.
The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan is also expected to be published in spring and will put more focus on ill-health prevention, use of digital technology and shifting more care from hospitals into the community.
To support this, financial incentives will be offered to GPs who diagnose and treat the most patients with high blood pressure before they end up in hospital.
Family doctors will also receive cash if they work to prevent common killers like heart disease, according to DHSC.
Surgeries will also be required to ensure patients can contact them online during core hours, as well as over the phone and in person, in a bid to make it easier for patients to get an appointment.
The contract proposals are currently out for consultation by the British Medical Association’s (BMA’s) General Practice Committee.
It comes after GPs in England voted overwhelmingly for collective action in the summer.
After the ballot result was announced on August 1, the BMA issued a list of 10 actions for surgeries to consider, including limiting patients seen each day or refusing to carry out work GPs are not formally contracted to do.
Mr Streeting added: “Through our Plan for Change, we are acting to fix the front door to the NHS and we have already started hiring an extra 1,000 GPs into the NHS.
“We are proposing substantial additional investment and greater flexibility to employ doctors so patients get better care.
“I call on GPs to now work with us to get the NHS back on its feet and end their collective action.”
General practice is the front door to the NHS - speaking to GPs and their teams, they are clear that embracing reform is key to improving patient experience and managing record demand
Ms Pritchard said: “Hard-working GP teams are delivering millions more appointments a month compared to before the pandemic, and it is vital they are given extra resources to improve access for patients and help people live healthier lives – with a renewed focus on preventing major killers, such as heart disease and strokes.
“General practice is the front door to the NHS – speaking to GPs and their teams, they are clear that embracing reform is key to improving patient experience and managing record demand.”
Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, added: “As the NHS embarks on long-term reforms, it’s vital that short-term changes give people more choices over their care, more time to discuss their symptoms and lives in a safe space, and personalised support which works for them and their families.”
Responding to the announcement, Dr Becks Fisher, director of policy and research at think tank Nuffield Trust, said the Government “has correctly recognised that high functioning general practice is vital to a healthy NHS”.
The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) described the increase in budget as “positive news for patients and the wider NHS” and welcomed measures to tackle the “bureaucratic burden”, but warned “there is a long road ahead”.
RCGP chairwoman Professor Kamila Hawthorne said: “While we hope this package announced today will help stabilise general practice and provide some much-needed certainty for hardworking GPs and our teams, there is a long road ahead.”
