The impact of including GPs in ARRS funding

Today’s news from the government that GPs can be hired through ARRS funding and that £82m has been allocated for this purpose, will be welcomed by many. The BMA, the RCGP and many grassroots GPs will feel that they have been listened to, but what are the implications for practices and PCNs?

The change is being bought in as a ‘2024/2025 emergency measure’ but it is not clear what happens at the end of March 2025.   GPs hired through ARRS funding will presumably have to be hired on contracts which are BMA model terms or equivalent, as the PCN is subject to GMS rules. These contracts normally grant continuity of service for certain NHS previous experience, so if the ‘emergency measure’ comes to an end in March and redundancies are required, there could be quite significant cost implications. If this were to happen, who would pay?  

A promise was made under the previous government to cover certain PCN redundancy costs, but the promise was never made contractual and was almost certainly not intended to cover this eventuality. PCNs will presumably want to take advantage of this new hiring freedom as quickly as possible, but in the absence of detailed rules what steps can PCNs take to mitigate any risks?

• Not include continuity of service from before the commencement of the new employment. This would not be consistent with the BMA Model Contract, but the obligation is for GPs to be employed on ‘terms no less favourable’ that the BMA model contract, not on identical terms.

• Alternatively PCNs could look carefully at their member practice contracts and see if they all include the BMA model terms obligation. It is often excluded from older PMS and APMS contracts, so one possibility might be to recruit GPs into those PMS/APMS practices but be careful as this may well present other problems if that practice is not where the GP is actually going to work.

• Recruit into a PCN owned Company where you benefit from limited liability so that in the event of a significant unexpected liability arising, practices would not be obliged to fund it

• Ask a third party like a GP Federation to recruit ARRS GPs, but if you do this be careful to ensure that the sub-contract places the liability for redundancy costs onto the third party. Obviously this will be a difficult term to negotiate.

• Engage ARRS GPs on fixed term contracts. This is unlikely to be popular amongst GPs who will be looking for long term certainty, and hardly supports the ‘bringing back the family doctor’ concept which is supposed to be at the centre of the plan.
  
• Recruit the new GPs as partners. There is nothing stopping you from using ARRS funding to pay for a partner role, and obviously partners are hired under the terms of a partnership agreement, not an employment contract

Conclusion

In summary, it’s great that the focus is now on hiring new GPs, but be careful to think through your options before entering into a contract, and seek appropriate legal advice if in any doubt.

Contact us for more information on the impact of including GPs in ARRS funding or any other legal issue, or call us for an initial free of charge consultation on 01483 511555.