MPs criticise GP salary reforms

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The contract, which was introduced in 2004, enabled GPs to opt out of providing care out of hours in return for a £6,000 drop in salary.

Since it came into force, average GP pay has risen above £100,000. A new performance-related pay structure has meant practices can earn extra cash and no cap has been placed on the proportion of income GPs can take as profit.

The report, from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, said the contract had led to some improvements but was so far failing to live up to expectations.

The new performance-related pay system enables GP practices to earn extra cash through the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF). Doctors earn "points" - which are converted into cash - for reaching a range of targets, including patient satisfaction and managing long-term conditions such as diabetes and asthma.

But Tory MP Edward Leigh, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, said it was "too easy" for doctors to reach high scores, which in turn led to them earning more than expected.

He said: "The new contract for general practitioners in England, intended to deliver benefits by linking GPs' pay to their clinical performance, has so far failed to live up to expectations.

"The contract has made some progress in linking GP's pay to performance. And it has contributed to the increase in the number of doctors working in general practice. But it looks like the new pay-for-performance system made it too easy for GP practices to achieve high scores - resulting in their earning higher than expected levels of payments."

The study follows a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) earlier this year, which found that productivity in relation to GP services has fallen by an average of 2.5% a year. The Department of health had predicted it would rise by 1.5% a year.

However, professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, described the report as "incredibly unhelpful". "There is far too much GP-bashing going on and it really does not help GPs who are working very hard, providing high quality care," he said.