Omicron: GPs to be paid more cash for every Covid vaccine they give out

30 November 2021, 19:00 | Updated: 7 June 2023, 08:56

GPs and pharmacists are among those who will be paid healthy fee for every vaccine they give out, the NHS chief has revealed.

The medics will get £15 per vaccine shot until the end of January, topped up by an extra £5 on Sundays.

They will also earn a £30 "premium" for visiting households to provide doses.

Speaking during a Downing Street press conference, NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said GPs, community pharmacists and their primary care colleagues had delivered "the lion's share" of vaccines so far.

She added: "We will ensure they're rewarded for their efforts, particularly when they take time to visit housebound patients who can't travel to vaccination sites."

NHS workers will be incentivised to roll out as many vaccine doses as they can by earning cash for jabs.

Ms Pritchard explained: "The payment for standard delivery of vaccinations will increase to £15 a shot until the end of January.

"To increase capacity on Sundays, when many community pharmacists are not usually open, we'll offer an additional £5 a shot.

"And to ensure we're prioritising the most vulnerable, we offer a £30 premium for vaccinations delivered to the housebound until the end of next month."

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Ms Pritchard went on to explain other measures being taken to improve the rollout.

"The CQC [Care Quality Commission] have agreed to continue their pause on routine inspections of general practice to help free up clinicians’ time," she said.

"We're also looking at whether we can safely reduce - or even eliminate - the 15-minute wait after the jab is delivered so we can potentially increase the number of people able to get jabs every day in smaller sites like pharmacies."

However, she said the changes could not happen "overnight" with the health service also having to deal with the ongoing backlog, which has built up throughout the pandemic, and the "rebound in demand for urgent emergency care".

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It comes as Boris Johnson announced that all adults would be offered their booster jabs by the end of January.

He said jabs would be given out through the age groups, going down in five-year bands, to prioritise the elderly and more vulnerable.

The military is also being drafted in as part of the race against the newly-discovered Omicron variant of coronavirus, supporting the health service alongside the "volunteer army" of vaccinators.

Eight more cases of the Omicron variant were identified in the UK on Tuesday - taking the total number to 22 - with 13 detected in England and nine in Scotland.