Somerset LMC weekly Update Friday 28 July 2017
Date sent: Friday 28 July 2017
Sent to all Somerset GPs and Practice Managers This and previous updates are available here
- GPC News 1 - 21 July 2017
- Vaccine Update - Special Infanrix hexa edition 266 - July 2017
- ????GPC Ballot of English Practices on Industrial Action - UPDATE
????GPC Ballot of English Practices on Industrial Action - UPDATE
GPC England is balloting GP practices in England as to whether they are prepared to collectively close their practice lists. On Monday 10 July a letter was sent to each practice in England from the Electoral Reform Services explaining how each practice can take part in the indicative ballot. Each practice should have received a unique identifier to log into the ERS website to complete the ballot, as well as a FAQs from the BMA.
If your practice has not received this information, please contact info.gpc@bma.org.uk as soon as possible. We really want to hear whether practices would actually be prepared to undertake this action, so please make sure you discuss as a practice and come to a practice decision. Whether you would or would not take this action, please tell us through this important ballot. We are encouraging and recommending that partners engage salaried and locum GPs in these discussions, as the decision will affect the whole practice not just the partners.
We have received a number of queries about the ballot. Please note the following important points:
- The purpose of this ballot is for GPC to understand what practices would actually be prepared to do. GPC is not advising practices to vote yes or to vote no to either of the options in the ballot.
- GPC has not proposed that all practices collectively (or otherwise) close their lists at this stage.
- Practices are currently able to take the decision to temporarily suspend patient registrations (provided they have reasonable and non-discriminatory grounds for doing so), or apply to close their lists, based on their own specific circumstances, for example in order to protect the quality of patient services. This ballot is separate from this. If enacted, the BMA would be calling for collective cessation of patient registration as part of a campaign of industrial action.
It is important that we get as high a turnout as possible so please complete the ballot before the closing date on 10 August.
Best wishes, Dr Richard Vautrey, GPC England chair
Best wishes
Somerset LMC
Crown Medical Centre, Venture Way, Taunton, TA2 8QY
Tel: (01823) 331 428
Fax: (01823) 338 561
