GPs in Wales vote overwhelmingly to reject GMS contract offer
GPs in Wales have voted overwhelmingly to reject the 24/25 General Medical Services (GMS) contract offered by the Welsh Government last month.
The result was delivered just weeks after the BMA’s committee of GP representatives in Wales voted to reject the contract.
GPs and GP registrars from across the country took part in BMA Cymru Wales’ online referendum which ran from 25 November to 16 December, with 99% voting ‘reject’ to the question: Do you accept the 2024/25 GMS Contract offer for General Practice from the Welsh Government?.
The GMS is a framework agreement between general practitioners and the Welsh Government, outlining the delivery of primary care services in Wales and the terms under which they provide services to patients.
But according to the BMA Cymru Wales the offer was “deemed derisory after it failed to offer a sustainable future for GP services which see up to 90% of NHS patient contact.”
The BMA’s Welsh GP committee, which represents the profession, says it will now take this mandate to the Welsh Government and ask that they urgently improve the terms on offer.
If they choose to ignore the unified voice of Welsh GPs, the BMA will continue with preparations for industrial action by GPs.
Dr Gareth Oelmann, chair of the BMA’s Welsh GP committee said: “The profession has delivered a clear message with this result.
“We simply cannot keep services going and meet the needs of our patients with less money and fewer resources.
“If we accept the offer as it is more practices will undoubtedly close leaving patients in greater peril, that’s why GPs from across Wales have taken a stand.
“For years, the service has been starved of adequate funding which has led to the closure of 100 surgeries since 2012.
“This is having a devastating impact on general practice. A recent survey of our members showed that 91% of GPs are routinely unable to meet patient demand due to unsustainably high workloads.
“With fewer surgeries available, GPs are now seeing up to 35% more patients each, leading GPs to burnout, reduce their hours or leave. This is neither safe nor sustainable.
“That is why we launched our Save Our Surgeries campaign last year which called on the Welsh Government for an urgent rescue package.
“Despite this, the Welsh Government has once again chosen to disregard our major, evidence-based concerns with this derisory offer.
“We know that if general practice had a fairer portion of NHS funding for the wide-ranging portfolio of services we provide, the NHS in Wales would have a far greater chance of success, and most importantly, benefit patients overall.”
