SIR – The British Medical Association and the Government have agreed a set of changes to the GP contract that will deliver real benefits to patients in Bradford.

The deal will cut unnecessary targets and reduce bureaucracy which will enable doctors to spend less time looking at the computer and more time meeting the real needs of their patients.

With practices working more closely with community nurses and social care, it is hoped that we can support more of our most vulnerable patients in the community rather them being admitted to hospital, particularly as winter begins to bite.

This deal does not bring with it any new resources and so local GP practices will still have many challenges to face, particularly as workloads continue to increase.

However, the new GP contract is a step in the right direction, but what we really need now is for the Government to work with us to reverse the years of funding cuts and instead invest in general practice so we can take on more GPs and nurses and develop our practices to meet the needs of all our patients.

Dr Richard Vautrey, British Medical Association, GP representative,Tavistock Square, London