This site is intended for health professionals only


Local GP leaders vote to ‘euthanise’ health boards

Welsh LMCs have called on the Government to scrap health boards after declaring the primary care commissioning bodies ‘ineffective’, ‘unsupportive’ and ‘morally bankrupt’.

Health boards were a hot topic at this year’s conference, as GPs also passed a motion which stated that conference was ‘appalled’ that the health boards were allowed to ignore nationally binding negotiations and ‘squirrel funding away’ for secondary care access schemes.

Welsh GP leaders called instead for one single national primary health care board, with the existing bodies proposed to be ‘euthanised’.

GPC Wales chair Dr Charlotte Jones said: ‘Unless health boards clearly demonstrate a willingness to deliver the national agreements it is something we may find ourselves actively pursuing.’

She continued: ‘What I would say to any board that thinks they are going get away with not delivering the national agreement or the solutions needed to sustain practices unchallenged then they are very much mistaken.’

Other motions passed at the conference included calls for better rewards for independent contractor GPs to make partnership more attractive.

But Welsh LMC leaders voted down a proposal to create a cap on the number of patients GPs can see in a day, as well as a suggestion that GPs should be able to decline treating foreign nationals.

They also rejected a motion that had suggested indemnity support only be offered to employed GPs, excluding locums.

Features motions in full

Morgannwg: That Conference:

(i) is appalled that Welsh Government allows Health Boards to ignore nationally binding negotiations – Motion passed

(ii) is appalled that Welsh Government delegates solutions to ineffective and morally bankrupt Health Boards to find local solutions for patently national issues – Motion passed

(iii) is appalled that Welsh Government allows Health Boards to squirrel funding away from GMS for secondary care access schemes such as ‘Musculoskeletal screening’ and ‘community cardiology’ – Motion passed

(iv) believes that GPCW should set up a working party to explore changing the structure of LMCs in Wales to develop a stronger and more coherent voice to lay bare and correct this behaviour – Motion failed 

Agenda Committee: That Conference believes that Wales has a unique opportunity to design an indemnity solution which could:

(i) better the new proposals being implemented in England regarding professional indemnity, and Wales should ensure that new regulations are implemented with haste – Motion passed as a reference

(ii) be for GPs in substantive posts and not locum GPs, and thereby bring GPs back into permanent positions and go some way to ease the recruitment crisis – Motion failed

Gwent: That Conference calls on Wales Government to show their appreciation for independent contractors by significantly rewarding them for keeping General Practice alive in the crisis that we are in.

Conference calls for Wales Government to identify and implement measures to make General Practice partnership more attractive and to ensure the survival of clinical leaders within General Practice – Motions (debated as one) passed

Agenda Committee: That Conference calls on GPC Wales to define and agree with government a manageable and safe workload for GP teams and introduce measures to stop practices being forced to take on more work above this level. This would include:

(i) A sensible cap on the number of patients a GP can be expected to safely see in a day for the safety of patients and sanity of GPs – Motion failed

(ii) Clarity that GPs facing sustainability challenge can decline to treat foreign nationals and signpost to the Health Boards for alternative provision – Motion failed

Source: BMA