A new GP contract for doctors working in England has been agreed for 2018-19.

The deal will see an investment of £256 million, which is an overall increase of 3.4%. The changes include:

• An investment of £60 million to cover GP indemnity costs for 2017/18
• An uplift to allow an increase to the Item of Service fee for certain vaccination and immunisations (V&I) from £9.80 to £10.06, in line with inflation
• An uplift of £22 million to allow a change in the value of a QOF point
• A non-recurrent investment of £10 million to recognise additional workload associated with the implementation of e-Referral contractual requirements.

The investment will also provide a 1% uplift to pay and a 3% uplift to expenses in line with inflation. A further uplift may be made following the Government’s response to any recommendations by the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ remuneration in May 2018.

The contract also includes an agreement that will pave the way to GPs using the NHS electronic prescription service instead of issuing paper prescriptions.

NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said: “The 2018/19 contract is a further concrete step in investing in and strengthening general practice, which is at the heart of our modern NHS.”