GPs are on strike …..no we are not !!
Lots of media coverage about the recent GP ballot .
GPs are NOT going on strike – we cannot. The ballot reported in the media a few days ago was about the willingness to undertake some “collective action”.
Why is this needed …..well a few facts
GP practices get 6% of the total funding in the NHS budget – per patient we receive about £105.57 per year REGARDLESS of their health needs . Ultimately it is felt by GP leaders we need to increase that funding to around 15% of the NHS budget (this cannot happen overnight). This will ultimately then secure the existence of GP surgeries which are an essential part of our community. I need to stress this is NOT about GPs wanting more pay.
In some areas of the country practices ARE closing as they are not financially viable .
Since 2015 1000 NHS practices have closed . However in the same time period there has been an increase of 6.4million people registered with GPs. 1.5 million appointments a day are delivered in GP surgeries
There is a situation now in the UK where newly qualified GPs (trained at considerable expense to taxpayers) cannot get jobs in surgeries as there are no jobs available…..
So what does collective action mean……
Over the coming months GP surgeries may begin to undertake actions that are aimed at sending a message to the government/ NHS England that they HAVE to increase GP funding . This is to make the future of our family doctor service secure – we know how essential GP practices are . Again this is NOT about GPs wanting more pay – it is about securing long term sustainable funding .
These actions may consist of some “system” wide issues that are complex, and many patients may not even notice anything- these may include switching off certain aspects of how data is shared in the health and social care system (this doesn’t affect patient care , but can make a real impact on flow of non direct care information that is essential for NHS monitoring issues – sounds complex because it is !)
GP practices may also stop services that are NOT part of their contract but they do on a purely good will basis – this may be things like arranging blood tests for people who have a hospital appointment but need a blood test before hand, or agreeing to monitor bloods for another service (we get asked to this a lot). Basically a GP practice can say – sorry we cannot do this , the service will need to find another solution…..
Some media outlets focused on one possible action – this is GPs limiting appointments to 25 per day (this was the basis of some headlines this week). This is an action based on workload safety – it simply is unsafe to see a limitless number of patients . Every practice works in a slightly different manner , therefore some practices may adapt their approaches to appointments. As it stands at the moment we have no plans to change our system which we feel is currently making the best use of our personnel.
However General Practice is essential to us all. Please value it – if we get this right we can have a system that is sustainable and reliable for everyone.
We will continue to communicate via this platform and via other routes too .
Please remember GPs are on your side .
