New rules for GP surgeries in England will make it even harder to get an appointment | UK | News
GPs across England are preparing to take their first industrial action in six decades amid intense disputes over funding arrangements. A “work-to-rule” policy that limits the number of patients seen each day to 25 is among the strategies being considered, according to recent reports.
Today’s (Thursday 1 August) confirmation of the planned measures represents a significant setback for families, with firms having to choose from a series of ten potential measures following the BMA’s confirmation of the industrial action.
Although GPs have avoided resorting to strike action or closing their practices, they have expressed support for a work-to-rule approach.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has drawn up a list of 10 possible measures that doctors could adopt, allowing individual practices the freedom to decide the extent of their involvement.
These suggested measures range from limiting patient consultations to stopping non-contractual tasks and restricting the sharing of patient data to cases where it is strictly in the patient’s interest.
Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, who heads the BMA’s GP committee, stressed the gravity of the situation: “We have had an overwhelming response to this poll, and the results clearly show that GPs are at their wit’s end. This is an act of desperation. For too long we have not been able to provide the care we want.”
She added, highlighting the critical state of primary health care: “We are witnessing the disintegration of general practice. The era of the family doctor has been swept away by successive recent governments and our patients are suffering as a result.”
Bramall-Stainer characterized the impending action as more of a “slow burn” than a “big bang.”
Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, sounded the alarm, saying: “The relentless pressure on primary care, together with the closure of many practices across England, means patients are turning to already busy accident and emergency (AandE) departments for help.”
She also warned: “Today’s announcement means more patients will naturally turn to under-pressure emergency departments and other high-demand services, including 111, ambulances and mental health support.”
Echoing this concern, the Royal College of General Practitioners said the result of the vote demonstrated the “strength of feeling” among family doctors.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, President of the Royal College, said: “No GP will want to restrict the services they provide to their patients and it must be clear that GPs and their teams will continue to work.
“But there are many aspects of what GPs provide that go well beyond the contractual requirements to which they are subject, and this additional workload and the goodwill of GPs who provide it has been taken for granted for too long.”
