FAMILY doctors in Wales are set to give the thumbs-up to the proposed new GP contract, a Gwent GPs' representative has predicted.

After months of wrangling between the British Medical Association and the government, and an eleventh-hour fear that many practices would be left worse off, GPs across the United Kingdom are currently voting on the contract.

Dr David Bailey, who chairs Gwent's local medical committee, which represents the area's GPs, believes the proposals will be accepted in Wales and across the UK.

"There might be quite a substantial 'yes' vote in Wales, the vibe on that is good, though it could be quite close taking the UK as a whole," he said.

"As Wales is relatively more deprived than many parts of the UK, the majority of Welsh practices will be better off. There may be more GPs in parts of England who aren't so keen."

The new contract, he said, offers substantial improvements on the current one, which will benefit patients and doctors.

The money available to practices will be based less on the numbers of patients on their lists, and the numbers they see, and more on the quality and range of services they provide.

Proposals over out-of-hours work - GPs will no longer be obliged to provide on-call services - have been welcomed, and Bedwas-based Dr Bailey said the contract also provides for substantial improvements to pensions.

"Overall, it will give us more control over how we run our practices," he said.

When the contract was published in February, many practices studied the financial small print and discovered they would suffer a loss of income.

A permanent Minimum Practice Income Guarantee has now been negotiated, to ensure no practice loses money under the new contract.

"If that had not been dealt with, the contract would have been rejected and there would have been resignation threats from many GPs," said Dr Bailey.

"Two-thirds to three-quarters of practices would have been worse off without the changes, but the feeling is that the vast majority will be better off."

The contract ballot closes on June 20 and the result is expected on June 25.