Home Menu Search

GP Referendum

NATIONAL 

OFFICIAL GPCE INFO: LMC update 3 April 2024

On behalf of GPC England, I want to thank every single GP and GP registrar across the country who took part in our referendum. Let us not forget, this referendum wasn’t even a ballot, it was merely a dress rehearsal for what’s around the corner. Either way, had it been a ballot, it would have comfortably passed the required thresholds.

This referendum was a temperature check of the profession - and make no mistake - in the week where we have a third consecutive contract imposition, we are at boiling point. I’m overwhelmed to share the result that more than 99.2% of you have voted firmly against this contract. This is an unequivocal result that will demand NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care, Government, and other parties now sit up and take notice.

It is now clear that we are one profession, which has spoken with one voice and said enough - time’s up. This contract imposition does not give practices stability. It does not give us hope. This contract, which NHSE are choosing to impose upon us, is not safe.

The contract changes, which will be imposed by the Government and NHS England from 1 April 2024, include a national practice contract baseline funding uplift of just £179m for England’s general practices, way below inflation in recent years, meaning many practices will struggle to stay financially viable over the next six to 12 months and risk closure.

The day after the referendum closed, GPC England met to decide and determine the next steps we’ll be taking as a profession knowing you’re standing right behind us. We are now starting to receive the full dataset and results breakdown from Civica, and we’ll share that with you in due course too.

When I qualified as a GP in 2008, we were called the ‘jewel in the crown of the NHS’. General practice has been demeaned, diminished, diluted, bullied and gaslit long enough. We now start the fight back, bringing our patients with us. Patients want access to their family doctor in a surgery that feels safe, with a well-resourced team ready to meet the needs of our communities, and that’s what we want too.

We are the bedrock upon which the rest of the NHS stands, with 400 million patient contacts a year. Almost 1.4 million every single day. That’s a lot of voters.

So congratulations, ‘team GP’. The battle to save general practice has begun. I’m proud to represent you, and I know that your BMA committee, GPC England, is proud to serve you.

We will be in touch soon with more information, guidance on the 2024/25 contract and next steps for us all.

OFFICIAL GPCE INFO: LMC update 9 February

Referendum and next steps

We have produced a webpage with everything you need to know about the current GP contract changes and what we plan to do next. Remember, whatever is on the table come March 1st will be put to you in a referendum which will enable the profession to decide whether the offer sufficiently supports general practice in England for the forthcoming financial year, or not.  to decide whether the suggested changes sufficiently support general practice in England for the forthcoming financial year, or not.

To be eligible to vote in the referendum, you need to be a member of the BMA to have your say.  This means making sure your details are up to date and spreading the word to colleagues about joining the BMA. The referendum won’t prevent the Government from imposing changes to the contract, but it will give us vital insight into how the profession feels, and where we go next.

Update your member details on www.bma.org.uk/my-bma and share this email with your colleagues and encourage them to join the BMA today to have your say. Visit our GP contract page here

LOCAL

  • LMC Update - April 2024

GMS CONTRACT FOR 2024-25 / REFERENDUM / NEXT STEPS.

Many of you will have heard Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer talking about the current situation at our Annual General Meeting on Thursday 21st March 2024, or at one of the GPC Webinars.

The GPC referendum was a fore runner to a possible ballot on industrial action. The final result was that 19,009 GPs voted, representing a turnout of 61.2% of those who had been sent a voting paper. Only 155 voted in favour of the proposed contract for 2024-25 meaning that 99.2% of GPs rejected it.

One of the issues that the referendum highlighted was multiple problems within the BMA database of GP members. If you or anyone that you know is a BMA member but was not able to vote, please contact the BMA or the LMC office, to ensure that this is sorted out before the ballot regarding industrial action.

The next step is that the GPC will hold regional meetings to discuss with as many GPs as possible your views, what action you would be willing to take, and what you hope the BMA can achieve. We will share further information in due course.

NHS England continue to be either blase or uncaring about the actual state of general practice as seen in their most recent letter. They continue to be obsessed with quick and easy access to general practice regardless of the effect that this narrow approach is having on quality of care, including continuity of care. In addition, the evidence from the national patient survey is that this is also not what they value the most. As can be seen from this infographic produced by Beds and Hart LMC, there is no correlation between number of appointments and patient satisfaction:

However, there is correlation between patient satisfaction and being given enough time with the clinician.

The LMC continues to advise all GPs to join the BMA at least in the short term so you can participate in the most important debate about the future of general practice, including voting in the unavoidable. We ask all GPs to join our WhatsApp group to get timely updates, and also please ensure that every GP you know is on the LMC distribution list (i.e. did you receive this newsletter directly, if not please let us know).