Butler agrees £40m GP contract as NIGPC chair says funding is not enough

Northern Ireland's Department of Health has agreed a new contract for GPs with the profession's negotiators, backed by £40m over two years that the Health Minister, Robbie Butler, says will make it easier for patients to get appointments.

The department said the 2026/27 General Medical Services contract had been agreed with the Northern Ireland General Practitioners Committee (NIGPC), the BMA body that represents GPs. It put the contract's "total in-year value" at a further £17.384m, including £13.3m of recurrent funding for core GP services.

On top of that, the department said it had committed an additional £20m a year for two years, covering "agreed measurable improvements in patient access and primary care activity". The release did not set out what those improvements are, how they will be measured or which financial years the money covers.

The agreement marks a change from last year, when Mr Butler's predecessor as minister, Mike Nesbitt, imposed the 2025/26 contract after 99.6% of GPs who voted in a BMA referendum rejected the department's offer. GP partners then voted for collective action, and the BMA said in January that it had agreed to resume negotiations with the department for 2026/27.

Mr Butler, who became minister in August after Mr Nesbitt resigned, said the new contract and the extra £20m a year were a clear signal of his commitment to general practice and to improving access for patients.

"Difficulties getting an appointment with their GP is one of the issues people raise with me the most, which is why during negotiations I have been very clear that the financial package must deliver more appointments and services for people who need them," he said.

The department said the £13.3m recurrent investment was intended to address problems in the current funding formula and share money more fairly between practices. The contract also covers locum reimbursement and revised childhood vaccination arrangements, which the department said would give practices additional incentives to improve uptake.

The BBC reported that Dr Frances O'Hagan, chair of NIGPC, had said the funding was not nearly enough to pay for the number of doctors each practice needs to meet growing demand. GPs have argued since last year that core funding needs an increase of about £80m a year.

Marie-Louise Connolly, BBC News NI's health correspondent, said the money announced appeared to fall short of that. "Northern Ireland needs more GPs to deliver much needed appointments for the public," she said. "Acquiring more GPs needs considerable long-term investment and what the department has announced appears to fall short of what general practice has said is required."

The department's figures leave several points open. It has not said what baseline the £17.384m is measured against, or whether the first £20m of the two-year commitment sits inside or outside that in-year total. With the contract agreed seven months into the financial year, it has also not said how much of the money will be backdated.

The £13.3m redistribution between practices means some will gain more than others under the revised formula. The department has not published which practices stand to lose.

The BMA has not yet set out whether the agreement will be put to GPs in a vote or whether the collective action backed by partners last year will end. The department said the minister had praised GP representatives for their constructive engagement during the talks.