Report criticises new GP contract

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It has yet to fully deliver some of the promised benefits, including redesigning NHS services around patients and tackling inequalities.

GP partners, who run practices, have seen their pay increase 58% since 2002/03 to £113,614 in 2005/06, the study said.

But the National Audit Office (NAO) report found that productivity in relation to GP services has fallen by an average of 2.5% a year.

The number of consultations carried out in GP practices has increased "but at a much lower rate than the increase in costs", it said.

This is despite the Department of Health predicting a 1.5% rise in NHS productivity each year as a result of the contract.

Karen Taylor, director of health at the NAO, said there had been benefits, including improvements in recruiting and retaining staff.

The focus on long-term conditions like diabetes under the Quality and Outcomes Framework, which allows practices to earn extra cash for meeting certain targets, had also resulted in some improvement.

But many intended benefits set out in the contract have not yet been achieved, she said.

There are "wide variations" in the way primary care trusts (PCTs) monitor the contract and how strategic health authorities in turn monitor PCTs.