THE British Medical Association welcomed a newly agreed GP contract as a “turning point” today – but stressed that more work is needed to help the service.

The union voted to accept, in principle, proposed reforms to the General Medical Services contract in England, following two months of negotiations with the government. 

It agreed to accept proposed reforms if the government commits to renegotiating a completely new national contract within this parliament. 

The new agreement will see the total value of the contract grow by 7.2 per cent.

Under the amendments, £800 million of national funding will be allocated towards covering rising costs, such as staff wages, repairs to buildings and increasing numbers of patients.

There will also be an increase in fees paid to GPs for routine childhood vaccinations and another £80m allocated for a new service compensating GPs for advice and guidance requests.

The deal also suggests lifting a cap on GP recruitment under the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS).

BMA GP Committee for England chairwoman Katie Bramall-Stainer said that the changes “mark a turning point.

“The green shoots of recovery will be seen when we start to see a fall in the numbers of practices being forced to close – closures that leave patients waiting far too long to see their GP,” she said. 

“However, the government must now recognise the imperative to deliver a new contract within the current parliament for meaningful reform and vital investment.” 

The government said the new deal will take the first steps to “end the 8am scramble for appointments.”

Among the reforms is a requirement for GP surgeries to allow patients to request appointments online from October. 

Health Secretary Wes  Streeting told BBC Breakfast: “For GPs, it’s cutting through a lot of the bureaucracy and red tape that ties them up.

“We’ve almost halved the number of targets and measures that they’re accountable to deliver – that frees up more of their time to do what they enjoy most and patients appreciate most, which is seeing patients, treating patients.”

The Department of Health and Social Care said that the contract, the first to be agreed in four years, marks a “reset in relations.”