BMA leaders condemn Government replacing GMS negotiations with ‘consultations’

BMA leaders have condemned any move from the Government to replace formal negotiations for the GP contract with ‘consultations’ or ‘engagement exercises’.

At their annual representative meeting (ARM) taking place in Brighton, doctor leaders voted in favour of a motion calling on the BMA to oppose such practices ‘robustly’ and to insist that all substantive changes to pay, terms, conditions, training, or workforce policy ‘must be pursued through formal negotiation frameworks’.

They said that the BMA should prepare escalation if the Government ‘persist in substituting consultations or scoping exercises for genuine negotiation’ and that ‘substantive’ changes to GMS contracts, including funding, workload, premises, or regulatory requirements, must occur ‘only through formal national negotiations with the BMA’ as the recognised representative body for GPs.

It comes after, as revealed by Pulse, the Government consulted a group of stakeholders on the contract changes for the current financial year – effectively ending the BMA’s role as sole negotiator of contract terms.

The ARM also voted in favour of another motion (see box) calling for ‘meaningful reform’ of the GP partnership model.

Proposing the motion opposing ‘consultations’, Dr Ian Hume, from the East of England BMA regional council, said: ‘With the abolition of NHS England, the political landscape is moving towards direct political involvement. When things heat up, they’re bound to start putting it down to local negotiations, which, although in some areas may give some benefit, it’ll be disastrous in the long run.

‘If a branch of practice does not feel that they are being taken seriously, then the BMA should be supportive, backing a dispute, obviously taking legal advice and following trade union legislation.

‘We need to have proper negotiations, we want solidarity with the BMA, we want branch of practices to have levers to take action if needed and the GP contract in England and the devolved nations must have the right for national negotiations.’

The representatives demanded that the BMA campaigns for meaningful reform of the GP partnership model ‘to ensure it remains viable, attractive and sustainable’ for future generations of GPs

Dr Faye Wilson, who proposed the motion on behalf of the BMA Birmingham division, said: ‘Independent contractors and partnerships are the bedrock of a UK general practice, which itself is the foundation of a successful NHS.

‘We do not want to be taken over like dentists or vets, nor do we want to be pushed into employment by NHS trusts, who so often go so wrong and devalue us in the ways that we have, we hear about powerfully all the time.

‘The potential partners are there, but we here need to lead the reform, not abandon partnership. We need to address the big issues for partners and potential partners.’

The BMA is going to ballot all GPs on a ‘plan B’ for general practice, and is planning an ‘extensive consultation’ on this over the summer, after GP leaders from around the UK voted in favour of drawing up a strategy for ‘exiting GMS contracts’ and ‘future working outside the NHS’, at UK LMC conference last month.

Dr Pranav Lakani, from Liverpool LMC, told the ARM: ‘The UK Conference of LMCs recently voted for Plan B. This is to explore private options outside of the NHS.

‘This is not because we want to leave the NHS, but because the partnership model is deliberately being driven to the ground by successive governments, practices are closing, GPs are unemployed. What else can we do? Well, what we can do is negotiate a better GMS contract and save NHS general practice.’