Almost 17,000 GPs and GP registrars took part in the BMA’s referendum, with 98.9% voting against the plans.

They have called on the Government to return to negotiation with the BMA’s GP committee (BMA GPC) to jointly develop and agree a brand new contract.  

Full support

Dr Steve Taylor, DAUK’s GP co-lead, said: “The DAUK GP team is in full support of the BMA GPC.

“The Government and the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, need to hear the overwhelming feedback from GPs that the new imposed contract is unacceptable.

“It creates needless barriers for patient care, and massive increase in workloads for GPs and their teams.

“It is vital that progress is made in the next few weeks to address the concerns of general practices.

“If this Labour Government is genuine about bringing back the family doctor then it needs to listen and act on concerns.”

Unequivocal rejection

BMA GPC England chair Dr Katie Bramall said: “This is an unequivocal rejection from GPs across England.

“The Government cannot ignore the strength of feeling from a profession that is already at breaking point.

“These proposals heap unsafe, unfunded additional workload on to practices, forcing GPs to deliver more with less, putting patient care at risk.

“Patient groups and GPs alike are united in their concerns around Hospitals rejecting GP referrals to access appropriate specialist care.

Waiting lists

“When the Government promised a ‘shift from hospital to the community’ we did not think this would be their own waiting lists.

“Mandating unlimited access without the staff, time, or infrastructure needed to deliver it is not a plan, but a fast-track to collapse GP services, pushing GPs to either walk away due to the moral injury it inflicts, or force them to close their doors due to the pressures placed on them.

“In some settings it may even tip family doctors to ‘do a dentist’ and see if they can offer a better, safer service privately.

“GPs simply want to provide the safe care their patients need, but they know they are being set up to fail with this imposed contract, the referendum result speaks for itself.”

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GP contract discussions

It follows an announcement by Dr Doyle that the groups consulted on changes to the contract would be expanded. This would significantly dilute the BMA’s role. Alongside the BMA GPC, the RCGP, the National Association of Primary Care, Healthwatch England, National Voices, and the NHS Confederation would also be consulted. Dr Steve Taylor, DAUK GP co-lead, said: “We wanted to make it clear that the BMA is the correct and legally-established organisation to negotiate the GP contract.

High-quality care

“It is best placed to ensure the contract is workable for GPs and delivers safe, high-quality care for patients.” Dr Taylor noted that the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) has stated that GP contract negotiations are not their role. In the letter, DAUK stressed that constructive evidence from across the system should inform any new contract. DAUK has published Your GP, here for you, a modern patient-centred GP contract designed to strengthen continuity, improve access, and ensure GP services are properly funded. The document was written after consultation with GPs, health leaders and the public. It builds on the 2022 cross-party Health and Social Care Committee review The Future of General Practice.

Your GP, here for you

Your GP, here for you has quickly gained the support of many GP leaders, the public, and health leaders. Dr Taylor said: “We’ve already been consulting widely. It’s vital that the full range of available evidence is used.” He added: “We want to see contracts that reflect the realities of general practice, not compromises forced through around a diluted table.” Read the letter in full below. All of our committee members are volunteers. They speak to the media and campaign on the issues facing doctors in their own time. Please support their work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe. [pdf-embedder url=”https://dauk.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/New_NHSE_GP_contract_could_lead_to_more_practice_closures.pdf” title=”New_NHSE_GP_contract_letter”]

Patient-centred GP contract

We have produced our own modern patient-centred GP contract. The contract is designed to strengthen continuity, improve access, and ensure GP services are properly funded. Our proposals are based on The future of general practice, the 2022 Health and Social Care Committee report produced with cross-party support. However, the report’s publication coincided with the resignation of then-Prime Minister Liz Truss, leading to limited public attention and little subsequent policy action. Our key recommendations are around continuity of care and removal of the tick-box top-down management of care. They emphasise a patient-centred approach and plans for improvement on access and fixing problems of inequality.

GP funding

Delivering this vision will require investment. We’re asking the Government to increase core GP funding by £40 per patient per year – less than £1 a week – to restore funding to the real-terms level of 2016. Average funding has risen from £152 per patient in 2016 to £169 today. Had it kept pace with inflation, it would now stand at £209 per patient. Dr Taylor said: “General practice has been stretched to breaking point by real-term cuts in funding by successive governments. “With the right contract and fair funding, GPs can deliver continuity, improve access, and rebuild general practice, which is the bedrock of our NHS.”

Your GP, here for you

Dr Taylor added: “We hope patients, GPs, community teams, and MPs will see the incredible benefits of a fully funded and functioning general practice. “The time is now. Your GP, here for you.” Read our proposed new GP contract below. DAUK committee members are volunteers and campaign about issues facing doctors in their own time. Please support our work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe. [pdf-embedder url=”https://dauk.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GP-Contract-Final-Version.pdf” title=”GP Contract Final Version”]

England LMC Conference

He was speaking after the England LMC Conference, which was held in Manchester on Friday. Dr Taylor attended on behalf of DAUK with our co-chair Dr Ellen Welch. Dr Taylor said: “It is clear from the England LMC Conference that GPs are extremely unhappy with the current position of the Government towards general practice. “The imposition of contracts, a failure to fund practices adequately to provide safe, timely care for patients, and continued briefings in the media against GPs have resulted in clear mandates.

Listen to GPs

“The Government must listen to general practice in delivering care in the community. Failure to do so will result in worse care for patients. “All motions were about patient care and the needs of patients for access to GPs. “More funding means more GPs, appointments, future capacity, and better outcomes in terms of prevention and costs to the public being less. “The Government needs to invest to save.” DAUK committee members are all volunteers and campaign about issues facing doctors in their own time. Please support our work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe.

Irresponsible and short-sighted

The committee said: “The decision to deny healthcare workers a free Covid vaccine this year is irresponsible and extremely short-sighted. “Healthcare workers are offered flu vaccines every year because we are at high risk of exposure to flu and to spreading it, so why are we now excluded from Covid vaccination, other than to save money in the very short term? “It will lead to increased staff sickness and put healthcare workers at risk of acute and long Covid. “It will also lead to higher rates of hospital-acquired Covid, cancelled operations and procedures impacting NHS capacity – all of which is likely to make the decision more expensive in the long run.

Covid vaccination

“As Covid is surging again, some NHS trusts have brought back mask mandates, yet we are expected to pay for vaccination ourselves at some expense. “The Government’s advice on vaccination states an ‘example price’ for a Covid vaccine of £25, but the cost of a private jab is between £75 and £99. “If the cost doesn’t put healthcare workers off getting one, then companies will be profiteering from the Government’s decision. “We would be very interested to know on what advice the decision was made.” The statement has been used by Doctors.Net.UK,

Short memories

Meanwhile DAUK co-chair Dr Ellen Welch, a GP based in Cumbria, has written on the issue on the DAUK Substack. She said: “We have very short memories when it comes to the Covid pandemic. We don’t want to remember, and understandably so. “But when it comes to minimising the damage of new Covid waves, and indeed any new diseases that come along in the future, we need to look at what did make a difference and implement that within our organisations.” Read Dr Welch’s Substack post in full. DAUK committee members are all volunteers and campaign about issues facing doctors in their own time. Please support our work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe.

Urgent care

“GP practices are not urgent care services. Who is determining what is urgent? “However, we already manage to meet most urgent requests on the day, with 14 million people a month dealt with on the day of contact, up from 11 million, three years ago. “This approach will prevent the management of chronic conditions and moves away from the much-needed work on prevention. “This is what general practice does best – providing long-term care and fostering relationships with our patients through continuity of care.

Targets

“Introducing targets does not necessarily result in good quality care.” Dr Steve Taylor, DAUK GP Co-Lead, added that while the framework acknowledges the importance of community care, more resources are needed to effectively deliver it. “The medium term planning framework is missing some key and important components,” said Dr Taylor. “The focus on community is not being funded, in particular the existing infrastructure of community care. “The focus on newer deliveries of services is not costed. For example, Pharmacy First appointments cost up to £50.

GP practices

“GP practices have not been funded. “Neighbourhood services sound new but are already there and have been in place since the start of the NHS. “Sadly, the top-down approach is failing patient care in the community.” Their comments have featured in reports in the BMJ and on the Doctors.Net website. DAUK’s GP committee has said it is available to work with Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the Department for Health on the issues facing general practice.

Collaboration

Dr Taylor said: “DAUK’s GP committee has decades of experience and has put together workable solutions which we have shared with politicians.” DAUK committee members are all volunteers and campaign about issues facing doctors in their own time. Please support our work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe.

The letter to Wes Streeting follows the imposition of a new GP contract variation from 1 October, and warns that the contract is a risk to patient safety.

It has been signed by almost 600 GPs and patients, with more than 150 copies sent to individual constituency MPs.

If general practice fails, the NHS fails

The message in the letter is clear: “If general practice fails, the NHS fails. Don’t let this happen on your watch.”

The new contract requirements demand that GP practices provide online access for patients with no corresponding investment, staffing, or infrastructure support.

Dr Ellen Welch, DAUK co-chair and a GP in Cumbria, said: “Every day, around 1.4 million people get appointments at GP practices compared with 67,000 attending A&E.

“People are getting through, we just don’t have enough capacity to see everyone.

Safe capacity

“Many practices are already operating beyond safe capacity.

“Opening up a new access route has simply created further demand that cannot be absorbed without more GPs and capacity.

“Instead, non-urgent consultations are being cancelled, staff are working late, and patients are waiting even longer.

“Clinicians are already under huge pressure and there’s a danger they will be stretched to breaking point and practices just won’t be able to cope.

“This hasn’t been fully thought through and we urge the Health Secretary to think again.”

DAUK letter

The letter to Mr Streeting calls for:

• A pause in the implementation of online access until full impact assessments and safety reviews are completed
• Proper resourcing for online access routes and service obligations. The GPs required to repair general practice exist – but the funding to employ them does not
• Support for a genuine dialogue with GP leaders, and to actively listen to the concerns that GPs are sharing through them

It concludes with a stark warning: “This contract variation does not modernise general practice, it destabilises it. And once lost, the community-based model of family medicine that defines the NHS will not return.”

The letter is the latest stage in a long-running campaign by DAUK’s GP committee. The campaign which aims to address the disconnect between policymakers and the realities faced by GPs.

Why Can’t I See My GP?

A copy of the book Why Can’t I see My GP?, written by Dr Welch, was sent to Mr Streeting, to every member of the Health Select Committee, and to all MPs who are doctors, following last year’s General Election.

Why Can’t I See My GP? highlights the crisis in general practice and offers some workable solutions.

Dr Steve Taylor, DAUK GP co-lead, said: “GPs have been called laggards and refuseniks for raising concerns about the new contract, our working conditions, and ultimately patient safety and satisfaction.

“We’re anything but laggards and refuseniks, and are providing 20% more appointments than a decade ago with fewer GPs.

Workable solutions

“But hundreds of GPs have signed our letter to say it can’t go on.

“DAUK’s GP committee has decades of experience and has put together workable solutions which we have shared with politicians.

“We’re here and ready to work with Mr Streeting and his team to solve the issues facing general practice.”

Read the letter to Mr Streeting.

DAUK GP committee

The DAUK GP committee is a group of volunteer GPs who advocate for general practitioners by addressing funding, workforce, and patient access and safety issues.

GP committee members provide briefings for politicians and develop policy proposals for improving general practice.

Members regularly raise awareness in the media of the ongoing GP crisis while countering misinformation and incorrect narratives around general practice. Please support their work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe.

General practice

Discussion focused on the pressures facing general practice, with speakers warning that current contract demands risk undermining continuity of care and patient safety. Dr Anane noted general practice’s strong record of embracing innovation. But she stressed the need for robust safety frameworks before artificial intelligence tools are widely adopted in primary care. Dr Harrod-Rothwell highlighted the irreplaceable human dimension of general practice, warning that ‘AI tools can provide facts but cannot give the full picture of a patient’s physical and mental needs’.

GP access

Ms Beacon suggested patients should not always expect to see a GP. “I don’t need to see a GP if I have a UTI,” she said, arguing that appointments should be reserved for those with more complex needs. Her remarks drew strong pushback from GPs present, including DAUK’s Dr Jacques, who warned that apparently simple symptoms can mask serious conditions. Dr Jacques later challenged Ms Beacon directly on her knowledge of GP skills. She was also challenged on the risks of fragmenting care through schemes such as Pharmacy First, and on the limits of AI in capturing clinical nuance.

Continuity of care

Dr Jacques said: “It was vital for us to be in the room to challenge misconceptions about the role of GPs and to remind policymakers that continuity of care and safety must remain at the heart of general practice. “Engaging in these debates ensures that the frontline voice of GPs is not lost in discussions about future reforms.” Meanwhile, DAUK co-leads also recorded interviews for the Pulse Podcast. They also spoke with newly-elected Green Party leader Zac Polanski about NHS policy, extending an invitation for collaboration on DAUK’s greener NHS campaign. DAUK committee members are all volunteers and campaign on issues facing frontline doctors in their own time. Please support our work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe.

Online access

During the pandemic, his practice trialled unlimited online access across core hours. Instead of easing pressure, it led to overwhelming demand. He said: “We just got inundated with increasing numbers of requests often some people repeating requests… so asking one question, then later on asking something else, and asking another. It became a problem.”

Top-down approach

Dr Taylor said the changes felt like ‘an imposed top-down approach’. They showed Mr Streeting hadn’t engaged with frontline concerns, he said. Dr Taylor highlighted that general practice has already delivered 8 million more appointments this year, four times the annual number of A&E attendances, but without additional resources.

Less funding

“It’s not shifting care from hospitals to the community, it’s asking community to do more with less funding.” Read Dr Taylor’s interview with doctors.net.uk in full. It follows his appearance on Sky News to discuss the issue. DAUK committee members are all volunteers and speak to the media about issues facing frontline doctors in their own time. Please support our work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe.

Capacity issues

“The issue isn’t that people can’t get through, it’s that we don’t have enough capacity. “We’ve got unemployed GPs needing work and patients needing care, but not enough funded posts.” The new rules, ordered by the Government and which came into force today, mean surgeries must offer online booking alongside traditional telephone and in-person requests. Surgeries will have to provide the service from 8am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. Alongside requesting non-urgent appointments, patients will also be able to ask questions and describe symptoms and request a call back.

8am scramble for appointments

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said the move will end the ‘8am scramble’ for appointments, and ease pressure on patients and surgeries. But Dr Taylor warned the changes risk simply shifting the bottleneck. “On the face of it, online access sounds brilliant,” he said. “But if a message comes through at 6.15pm, someone has to action it. “In a small practice like mine, that means staff staying late with no safeguards in place. It hasn’t been thought through.” He added that expectations are being raised without an increase in resources.

Online booking

“Patients may think booking online will be like booking a haircut, which is what Mr Streeting said this week. “But the reality is, there aren’t more GPs, there aren’t more appointments. We’re already having to cancel some pre-booked face-to-face slots just to cope with this extra demand.” Dr Taylor also challenged Government claims about GP numbers and funding. While ministers point to 2,000 more GPs in the workforce, Dr Taylor said the real figure equates to around 1,000 full-time equivalents. Additional NHS funding, he said, has been eroded by rising costs, leaving individual practices with too little to expand staffing.

GP unemployment

“As a GP, I look after 2,300 patients now compared with 1,800 just 10 years ago,” he said. “There just aren’t enough GPs in employment, and funding hasn’t matched the increase in population. “The Health Secretary said that there’s a billion extra pounds that have gone into general practice. “But then you take away National Insurance contributions, increasing inflation and other things, that works out about £300 million. “For a small practice like mine, that’s about £50,000, which might sound a lot, but actually doesn’t employ a GP.”

Capacity and safety

Dr Taylor added: “I do have some sympathy for the Health Secretary, there are tough choices across government. “But this top-down policy hasn’t listened to doctors on the ground. Without fixing the root issues of capacity and safety, we’re just moving the pressure around.” Watch Dr Taylor’s interview on Sky News again. DAUK committee members are all volunteers and speak to the media about issues facing frontline doctors in their own time. Please support our work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe.