Somerset LMC Weekly Update Friday 28th June 2024
Date sent: Friday 28 June 2024
Sent to all Somerset GPs and Practice Managers This and previous updates are available here
- MD Soundbites! New this week - School requests for toilet passes
- GPAS (General Practice Alert State)
- If Not Now, When?
- GPC News - Contraceptive Services & NHS Education Funding Agreement 2024/27
- Clinical News/Updates
- BMA Covid & Flu Vaccination Letter
- GP Contract 2024/25 Imposed Changes Guidance - Information for GP Partners/Salaried/Locums/Practice Managers
- Safe Working in General Practice - Inspiration for Change - Podcast
- University of Bristol Research Project - Safe Working in General Practice (BMA) This guidance is regularly updated with new items and suggestions
- Job Vacancies
If Not Now, When?
This was the question posed last week by Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, Chair of GPC England, at an event at Exeter Racecourse which I attended with a few Somerset colleagues.
An engaging presentation was given by Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer and Dr Julius Parker (Deputy Chair GPC) to explain how we had arrived ‘here’, as GPs on the brink of collective action, and what ‘phase 1’ of that action would entail. Many thanks to Devon LMC for hosting the event, and indeed, recording it here. I would highly commend a watch of the video but it is a long one and so if you are time poor I will give you my take on things here.
According to the 2024 British social attitudes survey only 24% of patients are satisfied with the NHS. This is down from 53% in 2020! This despite General Practice delivering 57 million more appointments to 6 million more patients. 44% of these by GPs and 40% on the same day.
Over the last decade we have lost 2000 FTE GPs and 1300 practices. Our core GMS funding is £107.57 per patient per year. This is less than the cost of an apple a day (a key message in the public facing BMA campaign).
Katie used the term ‘constructive dismissal’ of GPs on a national scale to describe the current situation. The long term workforce predictions for the NHS show a 49% increase in consultants with a corresponding 4% increase in GPs. One of the many metaphors was that GPs are akin to ‘boiling frogs’ who, apparently, if put in a pot of boiling water will hop out, but if put in a pan of cool water which is slowly heated up, will comfortably sit there until they boil to death…..
The time to take action is NOW, this needs to be collective to be effective. There is currently a ballot of GP partners who are BMA members to assess the willingness to take action. If you are not a member of the BMA you can join now with 3 months free! The slogan to unify GPs is Protect your patients, protect your GP practice. Often colleagues tell me that they couldn’t take action or make changes because they want to do the right thing for the patient. I, and the LMC executive would argue that taking NO action is the wrong thing for patients, if we do nothing then there will be no General Practice, as we know and love it, for patients in the future!
So, what are the GPC actually asking the government for? The ‘asks’ are fairly simple. They would like ‘Negotiation’ not ‘consultation’. They would like engagement that is respectful. They would like evidence based reforms and they would like a commitment to a new contract this parliament.
What is phase 1? This consists of a menu of possible actions we can take as practices or PCNs, and the plan is for these to be long term changes. This is not ‘a crash diet’ but a ‘lifestyle change’. The list of actions is on the BMA site here. I have spoken to colleagues who are not blown away by the action list and feel that they are not enough. Remember this is only phase 1 and we need to unite, with actions everyone feels able to take. We need to trust in GPCE and believe in the plan and that those who made it did so for good reasons. GPC believe that collective actions such as stopping data sharing, withdrawing from medicines management cost saving activities and limiting contacts to 25 per day in line with BMA safe working guidelines will have an impact. They are ‘easy, achievable, safe and sustainable long term’.
The menu of actions have been seen by CQC, GMC and reviewed by Kings Counsel. There is nothing here we need to ask permission to do. It is time to act. Somerset LMC will provide our take on the options list in due course as well as being open with our colleagues at Somerset Foundation Trust (SFT) and the ICB about what is happening. Our battle is not with our excellent colleagues locally but with the government. Unfortunately though the actions we take will bring some local challenges which will need to be faced. Of course these challenges are tiny compared to those that would arise from mass practice closures and the failure of General Practice so we do need to act.
So please join the BMA, vote YES in the ballot and start having conversations in your practice and your PCN about which actions you are going to take. We need to act together, and act NOW to save General Practice.
At the LMC we are here to support you as are the BMA. If you have any questions please ask.
Enjoy your weekend.
Tim
Information for GP Partners/Salaried/Locums/Practice Managers
University of Bristol Research Project: Researchers would like to invite primary care staff to provide feedback on their current grant application which will develop a primary care-based intervention to improve men’s reproductive health. There is reimbursement for those you wish to participate. For more information and to express an interest, please contact China Harrison (china.harrison@bristol.ac.uk).
Kind regards
Jill
Jill Hellens
Executive Director
Somerset LMC
Crown Medical Centre, Venture Way, Taunton, TA2 8QY
Tel: (01823) 331 428
Fax: (01823) 338 561
www.somersetlmc.co.uk
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