GPs to take action for first time in 60 years over a budget row
GPs have voted overwhelmingly to take collective action for the first time in 60 years over a dispute around funding.
More than 8,500 GPs and GP contractors took part in a ballot held by the British Medical Association (BMA) with 98.3% voting in favour of taking industrial action.
From today, practices will be encouraged to choose from a list of actions, which stop short of strikes but can include limits on the number of patients medics can see each day. Currently, some GPs do 40 consultations or more a day, which could be limited under the action to 25 – said to be the maximum safe level.
It follows funding crisis fears in general practice and dissatisfaction with the previous government’s increase in GP budget by just 1.9% this year. The doctors’ union recognised that the new Government was “keen to find solutions” but stressed that “the causes of practices closing and GPs leaving remain”.
Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chair of BMA’s GP committee for England (GPCE), said: “This is an act of desperation. For too long, we’ve been unable to provide the care we want to.
“We are witnessing general practice being broken. The era of the family doctor has been wiped out by recent consecutive Governments and our patients are suffering as a result.”
Dr Bramall-Stainer added: “We understand that the new Government has inherited a broken NHS, and we’ve had some positive conversations with the new Health Secretary about the situation in general practice.
“The DDRB award is a small a step in the right direction but we still have hundreds of millions less resource to run our practices compared to even five years ago.”
General practices were recommended 6% of guaranteed funding by the DDRB in an announcement this week. The BMA’s GPC England Committee believes this needs to gradually increase by 1% year on year, to 15%.
Speaking today on the BBC Radio 4 Today Show, Dr Clare Gerada, former Chair of the Royal College of GPs and a working GP shared her experience in the profession. She said “we do more as GPs in this country than any other GP ever” and that the latest government pay offer is “not enough”.
“I’m doing more today than I’ve ever done in my life, we do more as GPs in this country than any other GP ever in the world,” said Dr Gerada.
Dr Gerada welcomed the government pay offer but said, “I’m afraid we need a complete reset of what is going on within the NHS.”
“Wes Streeting has said that the NHS is broken, and the only way to fix the NHS is to fix general practice.”
According to the union, the impact of the collective action will be a “slow burn” that “may not be felt for some time”, in order to give the Government time to consider the proposed solutions, “including fixing our contract once and for all.”
Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward
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