Health Minister Robbie Butler has announced a new contract for general practitioners that includes an additional £40m investment to improve patient access to appointments.
The agreement, reached between the Department of Health and the NI General Practitioners Committee (NIGPC), aims to stabilise primary care and support the transition toward a neighbourhood health model. The deal follows a period of dispute that included collective action by GP partners.
The 2026/27 General Medical Services (GMS) Contract is valued at a further £17.384m, according to the Department of Health. This total includes £13.3m of recurrent funding for core GP services to address issues within the current funding formula and ensure a fairer distribution of money between practices.
The Department has committed to making an additional £40m available over two years. This consists of £20m allocated in each of the next two years to cover measurable improvements in primary care activity and patient access.
Robbie Butler said the investment responds to frequent public concerns about appointment availability.
The new agreement ends a 12-month dispute. In May 2025, former health minister Mike Nesbitt imposed a disputed financial package after GPs rejected a previous deal, triggering a “work to rule” that limited appointments to the British Medical Association’s recommended safe limit of 25 per day.
Butler noted that the NIGPC has committed to rebuilding a constructive relationship with the Department and ending the current collective action. The Minister stated his officials will work with the NIGPC on how best to use the extra funding to sustain General Practice, including its role in the Neighbourhood Health Model.
The 2026/27 contract is the first year of a three-year programme. The Department’s strategy focuses on stabilisation during 2026/27 before shifting toward transformation in the following two years.
Minister Butler also welcomed the NIGPC’s commitment to take part in the Neighbourhood Model of Health and Wellbeing, which brings services together, strengthens care in the community, and designs the system around the people who use it.
The 2026/27 contract also includes improvements to locum reimbursement arrangements and revised childhood vaccination arrangements to provide additional incentives for practices to help improve vaccination uptake.
The investment in the GMS Contract is part of the Department’s wider investment in primary care services, which includes a £61m Transformation Fund investment in the Primary Care MDT Programme over a 5-year period.
For media enquiries, the Department of Health Press Office can be contacted by e-mail: pressoffice@health-ni.gov.uk. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800 hrs and 0800 hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.
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