Sep 20 2005
Today for the first time, GPs in Wales are able to demonstrate tangibly that they are providing a very high standard of care for their patients. Publication of first year achievement scores in the new GP contract's Quality and Outcomes Framework shows that the average national score per practice in Wales is 949 out of a possible 1050 points.
Dr Andrew Dearden, chairman of the BMA’s Welsh General Practitioners Committee commented: “These are outstanding results and first and foremost they are very good news for patients. The Quality and Outcomes Framework in the new national GP contract has shown that GPs can quickly adapt to new and better ways of working. These results are mirrored throughout the UK and are proof that investment in general practice pays off.
“It is worth remembering that GP in Wales have achieved these excellent results even though the amount of disease and the numbers of patients needing to be treated (called disease prevalence) is significantly higher in Wales in most diseases compared to the rest of the UK (up to 20% higher in Wales than England). Even with higher levels of patient illness Welsh GPs have achieved comparable levels of quality to the rest of the UK, this in spite of the fact that GPs in Wales earn significantly less, on average, than GPs in England. The new resources invested in General Practice have brought genuine results which benefit patients and deliver high quality NHS care. This is real evidence that continued investment in general practice and its services to patients will bring about important improvements in our nations health.”
Today’s figures are based on the first full year of the Quality Framework from 1 April 2004 to March 2005. It was introduced as part of the new GP contract. Taking part in the Quality Framework is voluntary, but the vast majority of practices have chosen to do so.
Based on firm evidence of which interventions and treatments produce the best health outcomes for patients, the quality framework sets out the steps practices must take in a particular aspect of care to achieve the requisite number points. Each point carries a financial value that helps to pay for the work that practices have to do and also provides an element of reward.
Dr Dearden warned however that there is a danger of drawing unfounded conclusions from the UK and Welsh data.
“Firstly, the Quality and Outcomes Framework only covers certain specified aspects of a practice’s work. Also, this is a voluntary scheme and there may be many reasons why a practice has a lower score than its neighbours. A lower score does not necessarily mean that the practice is a lower quality one, far from it.
“For instance, a higher number of patients (as explained above) with certain types of disease could make the quality points more difficult to achieve, or a shortage of doctors or nurses within a practice could have the same effect. Some practices may have decided to progress more slowly in the Framework and not attempted to take on all the points in the first year, but work to obtain them this year. In reality though they may be actually be doing the work already.