A motion at the English LMCs conference has called on all GP practices to declare themselves to the CQC as ‘requires improvement’ to highlight the unsafe levels of care being caused by the lack of doctors.
The motion proposed by Kensington and Chelsea LMC said that general practice in England is ‘unsafe due to a shortage of doctors and a lack of investment’, and that this problem should be ‘owned by government’.
It calls for an ‘effective mechanism’ for LMCs to escalate issues that impact on patient safety, and taking them out of the responsibility of practices.
The motion says that a ‘workload sensitive contract’ should be introduced without further delay.
The call for action on CQC ratings follows the regulator’s own ‘state of care’ report, which said that the health and care system is ‘gridlocked’ and ‘unable to operate’, with staff struggling to provide good safe care as a result.
The CQC’s report also said that worsening access to primary care was leading to record drops in patient satisfaction and ‘exacerbating pressure’ on urgent and emergency services.
If the motion is passed, then practices will be encouraged to ‘declare themselves to CQC as “requiring improvement”, as they are unable to offer safe and effective care due to widespread system failings outside of primary care’.
The conference will also debate cutting core hours to 9-5, as the current requirements discriminate against GPs who want to have families and, as a result of the ‘still patriarchal society’, against female GPs especially.
Motion in full
AGENDA COMMITTEE TO BE PROPOSED BY KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA: That conference believes general practice in England is unsafe due to a shortage of doctors and a lack of investment; that this problem must be owned by government, and:
(i) believes that focusing on patient safety is more appropriate than trying to meet high patient demand and therefore calls for GPC England to use “safe capacity” and avoid “access” in communications and negotiations
(ii) deems the scapegoating, moral injury and lack of psychological safety faced by GPs, in the context of whole NHS system failure, to be entirely unacceptable
(iii) calls for an effective mechanism for LMCs to escalate issues that impact on patient safety in general practice that are outside the gift of practices to address and have failed to be addressed locally
(iv) believes it is time that a workload sensitive contract for GPs was introduced without further delay which includes a proactive system of monitoring and wellbeing safeguards
(v) believes all practices should declare themselves to CQC as ‘requiring improvement,’ as they are unable to offer safe and effective care due to widespread system failings outside of primary care.
READERS' COMMENTS [4]
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Or inadequate, and see what happens. If you all accept section 3bii failures and breach of regulation 712 a (I) 4 and issues with your feedback and unwillingness to paint the walls gold and carpet red and comply with CQC mythbuster no.192 then – wow, it all ENDS. In a fireworks show of enforced action and no more GP surgeries. Imagine, just blooming imagine. A big RED Bang.
This sounds like a good idea.
It also makes it easier to demonstrate that we are reflecting on our performance, and will make an ‘improvement’ in our rating next year more possible.
NB : anyone rating themselves as ‘excellent’ – you cannot improve on that, you can only get worse!
Time to abandon the NHS.
The whole country now is inadequate. Any departments that actually function well?