COVID-19: Northern Ireland GPs freed from QOF requirements

GPs in Northern Ireland are to be freed from meeting the requirements of the QOF (quality and outcomes framework). QOF is a series of annual targets used to measure the performance of practices and the decision to suspend them has been welcomed by Northern Ireland’s GPs, with practices assured they will face no financial detriment as a result of the decision. BMA Northern Ireland GPs committee chair Alan Stout said Stormont’s decision to support GPs in meeting the health demands posed by the COVID-19 pandemic by freeing them from the burden of QOF showed “early and definitive” action. He said: “This