GP practices across the country could be closed completely for 24 hours due to strike plans being considered.
The British Medical Association is preparing to vote GPs on whether to take industrial action.
Any move would be a protest against an ‘offensive’ NHS contract, heralded as the end of the British’s hated 8am scramble for appointments.
Practices must ensure that patients receive an appointment or referral when they first contact their GP under the new terms.
But GPs argue the new contract will not bring additional funding to help operations deal with rising bills and staff salaries that need to be raised amid the cost of living crisis.
GPs could vote on whether to hold a 24-hour strike across England in response to an ‘offensive’ NHS contract being imposed (stock image)
Official figures show average GP wages rose by around £10,000 to almost £112,000 during the pandemic in the latest reporting period
The day-long strike was mentioned by BMA GP leaders during a webinar yesterday as a possible option for a future union action vote.
Other options for industrial action include limiting the number of patients each GP sees per day to a ‘safe’ level.
No times were given when a possible vote could take place.
But union officials are said to be meeting at the end of this month to smooth out their battle plans, with any strike slated for “maximum impact.”
GPs in England earn an average of £110,000/year and generally work the equivalent of three days a week.
Dr. David Wrigley, deputy chairman of the BMA’s GP practice, admitted that the idea of closing GP practices for 24 hours would be ‘worrying’ to many doctors, aaccording to GPOnline.
But he argued that the profession had to act decisively.
“If you think about taking action, it has to be something that has an impact — it has to influence politicians and potentially influence patients,” he said.
“Many people have said to me and others in the past, ‘I can’t take an action that could harm or cause harm to patients.’
“Well, patients are getting hurt day in and day out now. If we don’t take action, there will be even more damage. And more worryingly, family medicine could decline further.
“It’s the funding, it’s the resources, it’s the lack of support and disdain we’re seeing from the government – that’s the problem we need to solve.”
On the prospect of a union action vote, Dr. Kieran Sharrock, acting chair of the BMA England GP committee: ‘Despite efforts to work with NHS England and the government to reach an agreement that would both improve patient experiences and support practices to do so we are facing the imposition of a contract that does neither for the second year in a row.”
Growing populations and a shrinking workforce have exacerbated the workforce crisis in all but one of England’s 106 health districts. In Blackburn with Darwen there are 2,915 patients per fully qualified GP making it the worst served area. The number has increased by a quarter since 2016. Portsmouth is second with 2,821 and Hull third with 2,805
Nearly 325,000 surgeries and appointments have been canceled due to NHS strikes this winter
“As a result, we’ve seen the profession become increasingly demoralized and angry as they face the uphill battle of trying to meet patients’ needs without the support of government or policymakers.
“Without change, more GPs will leave and more patients will not receive the care they need.”
He added that it had given the profession the “very real opportunity” to vote and carry out collective industrial action.
GP surgeries are funded by a mix of NHS money for what are considered core services, such as providing primary care to a particular area, as well as bonus funding for achieving certain healthcare goals, such as providing face-to-face assessments of arthritis patients , eg.
This income is then used to pay all practice staff, GPs, nurses and administrative staff and general costs such as office supplies and insurance.
BMA officials also revealed today that they have written a letter to Health Secretary Steve Barclay asking him to reconsider the contract and hold talks with GPs.
This includes a list of requirements Pulseincludes increased government funding to cover wage increases for practice staff and to offset increases in utility bills and the cost of medical supplies.
It also calls for the part of the new contract about improving access for patients with the BMA to be scrapped, saying it is ‘not feasible without investment in staff and infrastructure’.
There were just 27,558 full-time equivalent fully qualified GPs employed in England last month, 1.6 per cent fewer than the 18,000 registered in June 2021. It was 5.3 per cent fewer than the more than 29,000 employed in June 2017
While the number of fully qualified GPs in England has fallen overall, the patient population has risen to 62 million meaning more Britons are competing for fewer doctors
Fewer than seven in ten GP appointments in England (68.3 per cent) were held face-to-face in December. It is the second month in a row that the figure has fallen after a peak of 71.3 percent in October. Eight out of 10 consultations were in-person before the pandemic. But the figure hasn’t bounced back so far
Another demand is the termination of the obligation to declare wages for general practitioners, which, according to the union, leads to ‘turnover’ of the workforce.
The new contract, which starts next month, reduces the number of goals GPs have to meet, so they have less bureaucracy and can focus more on patient care.
It also says that practices should use a modern telephone system when their current contract expires so that callers are queued and not met with an annoying busy signal.
They must also ensure that patients have online access to their medical records by the end of October.
Brits still have to fight to get appointments with their GP – many are stuck in long phone queues or simply can’t get through at all.
And those who manage to get an appointment face struggles to see their GP face-to-face.
Experts have blamed the crisis, with patient groups describing the service as a “stretched elastic band ready to break,” on a growing population and shrinking workforce.
Many GPs are also choosing to retire, move abroad or work in the private sector at age 50 due to complaints about rising demand, paperwork and a toxic environment.
It means the number of patients per fully qualified GP has risen to its highest level ever, with an average of 2,273 people rushing for appointments with each GP – a 15 per cent increase in five years.
The BMA, described by critics as ‘militant’, is also in open dispute with ministers over pay for NHS junior doctors.
Last week, junior doctors across England took part in a three-day strike that led to the cancellation of more than 175,000 NHS appointments and procedures.
The BMA is demanding “wage recovery” for junior doctors, who make up about 45 percent of the medical workforce.
It claims that their salaries have fallen by 26 percent in real terms since 2008/2009 and to reverse this would require a 35.3 percent wage increase.
Ministers will meet with BMA officials this week in hopes of throwing off a similar offer to other NHS unions made last week.