GPs to vote on options for collective action in Northern Ireland

The BMA in Northern Ireland is developing options for collective action which GPs will vote on via a referendum, the union has announced.

Last month, the country’s health minister imposed the GMS contract for 2025/26 on GP practices for the first time, despite the offer being overwhelmingly rejected by the profession.

Now the BMA’s Northern Ireland GP Committee has told members it is ‘developing a suite of collective action measures’ and said it is ‘crucial that every practice engages’ with them.

Northern Ireland GPC chair Dr Frances O’Hagan said that GP leaders will outline the proposed measures to the profession at ‘online events in the coming weeks’ and this will be followed by a referendum in which GPs partners ‘will be able to vote on the specific measures’.

In response to this, the Northern Ireland Department of Health (DoH) said the health minister ‘remains open to discussion’ on the future of general practice, but stressed that the imposed contract – which is worth an extra £9.5m – was ‘the best and final offer for 2025/26’.

The department also confirmed that implementing the doctors’ pay review body recommendation for a 4% GP salary increase will see a further £11.5m invested in GMS this year.

When GPs voted against the Government’s contract offer in May, 89% of them also indicated they would be willing to take collective action.

Dr O’Hagan told Pulse: ‘We’re planning to bring the negotiators and members of NIGPC together to come up with next steps, and then go out to the GP profession with a referendum as to whether what we’re proposing is acceptable to the profession, and we’ll take it from there.’

Following the contract imposition, LMC leaders met last week to plan a strategy, which included ‘assessing what collective action would have the most impact’, according to the BMA.

In an update to GPs on Friday evening, Dr O’Hagan said: ‘Each practice and LMC area will be able to determine what works for individual practices and areas.

‘The collective action measures that we identify will be assessed and evaluated by our legal team in BMA to ensure nothing you do breaches your contract and any other regulations and statutory functions that you are obligated to observe.’

She added: ‘If our initial actions do not bring the changes we want and escalation is needed, that will be considered in the future. This is a stepwise process.’

The BMA had strongly criticised the health minister’s decision to impose the 2025/26 contract, which will see £9.5m extra funding, including £1m into core funding, £5m for indemnity and £3.5m expected to cover National Insurance hikes.

In her update on Friday, Dr O’Hagan said the health minister had been ‘very dismissive of GP concerns’.

The DoH said it is a ‘matter of regret’ that it was not able to reach agreement with the BMA on the 2025/26 contract.

A spokesperson continued: ‘As the Minister stated in his Oral Statement on Monday 19 May, he remains open to discussion as to how best to secure the future of general practice so that it can remain a central part of primary care services now and in the future.

‘The £9.5m associated with the 2025/26 GMS contract represents additional investment in core GP services, with no “strings” attached in terms of additional workload, or no requirement for additional patient consultations.’

They added: ‘The Minister has also stated his intention to see the pay recommendations from the recent DDRB report implemented for 2025/26 in full, which will see a further £11.5m invested in GMS.

‘Given the extreme budgetary challenges facing the Department, however, the Minister has made clear to the BMA that the £9.5m contract offer, which will provide support directly to GP practices in Northern Ireland, was the best and final offer for 2025/26.’