BMA hints at shape of potential future GP collective action

The BMA has hinted at what shape future GP collective action could take, including GPs uniting behind a new AI-powered OPEL-style framework that would enable closing of services.

In a webinar for BMA members that took place today, leaders of its GP Committee said they are ‘open’ to coordinating new GP collective action, but that they were not committing ‘either way’ at this point.

They also revealed that the consultation on the 2026/27 GP contract has now concluded, with the Government expected to present the terms to the stakeholders by the end of February. Following that, the GPC will hold an ’emergency’ meeting to consider proposals.

Although the BMA is not expected to have powers to turn down the Government’s proposals – following the move to consultation from the traditional negotiation – the GPC said they may still put the result out to members for a vote in a bid to gain ‘leverage’ with the Government for future talks.

GPC chair Dr Katie Bramall said: ‘It could be about raising the temperature. It could be about leverage with the government. It could be putting them on warning.’

Although much of the webinar was focused on the reasons why GP collective action faces many obstacles – mainly contractual – Dr Bramall hinted at the BMA working on a new OPEL-style system with IT system providers, behind which practices may be able to unite to curb workload as long as they did so in a ‘collective’ manner.

She told the webinar: ‘We’re looking at how we might be able to build some systems that are integrated into your EMIS, Medicus, TPP system. One that actually could pull up, for example, how many appointments per 1,000 patients? How many requests for home visits? How many requests for patients in a residential or nursing home setting? What’s the workforce, absence and sickness like on that given day?’

The system could then ‘use AI’ to ‘tip you into the different dashboard levels – level one all the way to level four – which would be the equivalent of when you have local A&E departments on divert,’ she said.

She added: ‘The thing to remember is that health and safety legislation is more important than what’s in a contract. The care of your patient is your first concern, and your duties of a doctor under the GMC override your GMS contract.’

But Dr Bramall stressed that practices would need to participate collectively, and that the GPC can’t ‘advise breaching contracts, left, right and centre, because as we know as GMS contractors, we’re in this unique position of facing unlimited liabilities’.

On the likelihood of any collective action being organised by the GPC, Dr Bramall said: ‘We have to be ready for anything. We are not committing ourselves either way. We are very open to sitting at the table and working on a new contract.

‘We are equally open to putting a referendum to the profession on what the 2026/27 contract is going to be, and also, in parallel to start collective action whenever we need to do that.’

As exclusively revealed by Pulse, instead of GP contract negotiations with the BMA’s GP committee for the 2026/27 contract, the Government has consulted it alongside a wider group of stakeholders, including the RCGP and patient groups.

According to Dr Bramall, the GPC has ‘liaised very closely’ with the other stakeholders and that their priorities for the contract were ‘very aligned’.

Dr Bramall said: ‘We liaised very closely with other GP groups like NHS Confed, the NAPC, the Royal College, we’ve all been in lockstep.

‘We’ve all taken certain strategic positions so that we’re very aligned. They have all said that is for the BMA and for GPC England when it comes down to the nitty gritty of the remuneration.’

Last month, the GPC revealed its asks for the contract, including replacing ARRS with a ‘practice level funding scheme’ to ‘support practices to hire more GPs’.

In an exclusive interview with Pulse last week – which features in the latest episode of the Pulse in Focus podcast, RCGP chair Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown also revealed key asks that had been put forward by the college in consultations.