QoF income falls trigger survey row

GP practices’ achievement on the Quality and Outcomes Framework fell across the UK in the last financial year, costing the average practice in England about £1,800.

Newly published figures show GPs in all four UK countries suffered a drop in performance, which has been largely attributed to changes to the patient experience indicators.

The figures came out on the same day as the British Medical Journal published a study of the GP Survey that found it was a “reliable and valid” way to reward doctors.

A team from Peninsular Medical School examined responses to the survey and found that “in line with many other surveys, men, young people and people living in deprived areas were less likely to respond.”

But they argued this did not result in any “systemic disadvantage” to practices and that the questions asked by the survey were “a reliable measure of practice performance.”

The BMJ paper drew an instant response from Laurence Buckman, chair of the BMA’s GP Committee, who said the impact on practices of low response rates could be “significant.”

However, he said the drop in practice income was mostly down to the government “deciding to move the goalposts.”

In England, GP practices achieved an average of 954.2 points in 2008-09, 95.4% of the points available, compared to the average of 96.8% of available points in 2007-8. Only 2% of practices scored maximum points, compared to 7.5% in the previous year.

In Wales, practices averaged 956.1 points compared with 973 in 2007-8. In Scotland, points fell slightly from 982.2 in 2007-8 to 972 in 2008-9. And in Northern Ireland, practices achieved an average of 973.1 points compared with 986.7 points in the previous year.

Dr Buckman said the drop in patient experience QoF scores was a result of changes to the funding of the Patient Experience Survey and not a result of poorer satisfaction or quality.

He added: “Practices got very similar, high patient satisfaction results to last year’s Patient Experience Survey, yet this year they have lost points and resources.

“As well as unfairly reducing resources for patient services, the results are inevitably likely to be misinterpreted, and this is why GPs have so little faith in this survey,” he added.