Ms Vanessa Hetherington:

I want to reiterate that a new contract has to be brought in on a phased basis, as the capacity allows within the system. As Dr. Walley indicated, any strong primary care system has to be built over a period of time – ten or 20 years. Looking at what has happened in general practice over the past ten years, it is exactly the opposite. The financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, cuts have led to a reduction of 38% in funding per patient. That is exactly the opposite of developing a GP-led service.