Face-to-face appointments

Speaking to GP Online, Dr Taylor said: “There is limited capacity of appointments and time, so with the increase in access requests this will have an effect on other parts of patient services. “This will include fewer face-to-face appointments, possibly waiting lists and fewer pre-booked appointments being offered.” Dr Taylor warned the policy could harm rather than improve patient care without investment in GP recruitment. “There are available GPs who are unemployed or underemployed,” he said. DAUK’s GP Committee has backed the BMA and the vote by GPs in England to enter into dispute with the Government over the changes. Read the article in full on GP Online. Meanwhile, members DAUK’s GP committee took to social media to counter comments by the Health Secretary Wes Streeting it was ‘absurd’ many patients can’t request appointments online.

Hair appointment

Mr Streeting said it was easier to get a hair appointment than a GP appointment. Dr Sarah Jacques, DAUK’s GP co-lead, commented on X, formerly known as Twitter, She said it was ‘strange’ to compare general practice to hairdressing. “I have to book a hairdresser 8 wks in advance,” she said. “There’s no squeezing me in for an emergency roots touch up if I need to look good for that pop-up family event when you know your mother-in-law is going to make some snide remark about your appearance!” Also posting on X, Dr Taylor said: “There are 102,000 hairdressers in England with 40,000 salons. 27,000 GPs with 6200 Surgeries. 31 million people visit GPs every month a similar number have haircuts “You can see the problem @wesstreeting.” 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.

Frontline GPs

“The Government has failed to listen to concerns from GPs. In particular, GPs who continue to work on the frontline are not being heard. “The most important thing being missed is genuine patient care while focusing on access. “GPs care about patients first but are not able to provide the care they need. “Top-down impositions from Government and NHS England, without the resources, are a recipe for disaster. “Also a one-size-fits-all solution won’t work, as urban parts of the country are so different from rural areas.

Listen to concerns

“It is vital that Wes Streeting and NHS leaders listen to concerns and don’t get into a fight with the very people who have provided 20% more appointments with less money and who want it to work better.” Changes to the GP contract are due to come into effect next month. They are intended to ‘free up’ the surgery phone lines to ‘end the 8am scramble’ enabling patients to make online consultation requests for non-urgent problems and queries, from 8am in the morning to 6.30pm in the evening, Monday to Friday. However, online systems cannot distinguish between non-urgent and urgent patient queries. GPs fear this could lead to potentially serious problems being missed when the important ‘needles’ get lost inside the huge haystack of unmet patient need.

Overstretched GPs

The BMA’s GP Committee believes allowing unlimited online requests without safety measures built in opens the floodgates to an already stretched GP workforce without increasing any practice capacity. In the first instance, GPC England will consider if any action could be taken to challenge the lawfulness of the Government’s position on necessary safety measures. Committee chair Dr Katie Bramall said: “We know that the public’s number one NHS priority is general practice, so it’s disappointing to see the Government being prepared to risk patient safety, practice workforce wellbeing and GP retention, when solving this would not cost a single penny. “GPs have a track record of being the first to embrace and embed technology in the NHS so long as it’s safe and fit for purpose, but imposing such changes on general practice, ignoring our repeated warnings will do the opposite of ‘bringing back the family doctor’.

All is not lost

“But all is not lost – we still have time in the coming days for Government to meet us halfway. “We will explore all options, but I’m sure our patients and the profession would rather we find a resolution in the coming days. We want to work with the Government in delivering an NHS that we know is safe.” 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.

National Insurance contributions

“Sadly, much of the increase in funding will be lost to National Insurance contributions, staff and on costs. “While there has been an acknowledgment of the need to invest in community services, a much larger investment will be needed to reverse the decline and build more capacity for the future. “We look forward to seeing greater emphasis placed on GP provision in the future years. “We also hope that amendments to the legislation on National Insurance contributions for GP practices, recommended by the House of Lords, will be implemented without a cut in this proposed budget.” His comments come as GPC England voted to accept the proposed contract, which includes an overall funding uplift of £969m for 2025/26, contingent on full renegotiation of the national contract within this parliament.

Contract changes

Key headlines from the 25-26 GP contract changes:

• £969 million new investment uplift – comprises £889m additional core contract funding and £80m for use of e-RS advice and guidance between GPs and consultants.
• This investment is on top of the £433m added to the contract during autumn last year.
• Enhancement of ARRS, with GPs and practice nurses added in to the main scheme, minimum GP salary + on-cost reimbursement increased in line with the BMA salaried GP pay range and with no caps on numbers
• Enhanced service for ‘pre-referral’ advice and guidance with a £20 item of service fee payment per request by GPs
• Restoration / uplift of SFE payments (sickness/parental leave cover) in line with 2025-26 real-terms values (compared to 2018/19), including locum reimbursements and childhood vaccination payments.
• Changes to requirements for patient online e-consultation access to general practice from October 2025

Continuity of care

Dr Lizzie Toberty, DAUK GP lead, said: “We welcome the Government’s emphasis on continuity of care and patients being able to see the same doctor. “This is how high quality care which facilitates the move from hospital to community can happen, and there are huge efficiencies to be gained as well.” Dr Rosie Shire, DAUK GP committee member, added: “The move to increase ARRS (Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme) funding for GPs is helpful.

ARRS posts

“However, it is not clear if GP ARRS posts are going to be open to experienced GPs as well, or whether they will continue to be restricted to those within two years of qualifying. “We have thousands of GPs out of work and struggling to find work, and practices need to be able to employ the GPs they need. “Funding GPs, who can give patients continuity of care, is the best use of the ARRS funds and will keep more patients out of hospital.” Please support our work by contributing to our crowd funder or by becoming a member.

The BMA has agreed to provide indemnity support for the case brought by Anaesthetists United (AU) and the Chesterton family against the General Medical Council (GMC).

The challenge is regarding the regulation of PAs and AAs, which the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) believes puts patient safety at risk.

DAUK has been an early and consistent supporter of this crucial legal action, and has contributed £30,000 to AU’s crowdfunding efforts.

We believe this case is vital for patient safety and the maintenance of high standards in UK healthcare.

Dr Matt Kneale, DAUK committee member, said: “We are pleased to see the BMA joining this important cause.

Physician associates

“DAUK recognised the significance of this issue early on, which is why we provided substantial financial backing.

“This legal challenge addresses critical concerns about patient safety and the appropriate regulation of physician associates and anaesthesia associates.

A spokesperson for Anaesthetists United said: “The BMA’s decision to support this case is generous, rare and highly significant.

“It does not typically fund legal actions brought by others; this move highlights the enormous gravity of the situation. We are deeply grateful for their help and recognition of how vital this is to healthcare in the UK.”

Now DAUK has renewed its call for healthcare professionals to support this legal action.

We are also urging royal colleges and other medical organisations to join us and the BMA in backing this case, which has far-reaching implications for the future of healthcare delivery in the UK.

For more information on how to support the legal challenge, please visit the Anaesthetists United website.

Become a member of DAUK and support our work.

Kaveri Jalundhwala is losing income and faces an extension of her GP training after contracting COVID-19 at work while on a hospital placement.

The uncertainty, on top of debilitating ongoing symptoms, has been very difficult.

‘I became ill on 30 March and had all the usual symptoms, and after a week I felt better and went back to work. I was sent to a COVID ward and worked there for three days while I was still coughing, but I didn’t have fever.

‘Then I got another fever, so I isolated again and then I started really struggling with shortness of breath and that’s been my primary symptom for three months. After that my main symptom was fatigue, which I’m still struggling with now.’

Dr Jalundhwala, 28, is doing an extended phased return on a GP placement in the Thames Valley.

She had three months sick pay, followed by two months working 60 per cent, and is now working 80 per cent, all remote.

‘I got the full pay while I was on sick leave but then they put me on less than full time pay, so I was paid 60 per cent for two months and now I’m paid 80 per cent.

‘Someone on the Facebook group highlighted to me that I shouldn’t have had my pay cut at all, so I’m following that up with my employers,’ she says.

Losing 40 per cent of income is always hard – especially when you still have around £26,000 in student loans still to pay off.

‘I’m lucky, I’ve got savings and my husband has a good job so we’re managing OK at the moment. But I’ve heard of people who have lost their jobs, which is just terrible.’

She is also concerned about what will happen when she rotates to her next hospital placement, which is due to be emergency medicine – something she won’t be able to do from home.

‘Hopefully I’ll be better, but there are still days when I just can’t do it, no matter how much I push myself. I think I’ll be working eight-hour shifts but I’m struggling to get in contact with anybody to find out if there’s any flexibility in this. I’ll be going to 60 per cent, so that will be a big cut in pay again.

‘It will also mean more months of working as a trainee, which is fine for me, because that’s just how it is, but it wouldn’t be fine for everybody.’

She is finding it difficult to deal with the situation, particularly as she has problems concentrating because of her long COVID. 

‘I think it would help if employers were more proactive and when people are sick for a long time, I think they should be reaching out to find out what is happening. It’s also difficult to find out information, for example what is the situation with sick pay. Some days I’ve felt I don’t have the energy to do this as well as my work, so obviously I prioritise my work. It’s very difficult all round.’

Read the full article here: https://www.bma.org.uk/news-and-opinion/living-with-covid