Exclusive A Government offer for the next GP contract will be put out to referendum by the BMA next month, Pulse can reveal.
GPC England chair Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer told Pulse that a referendum will be put to the profession in the second week of February.
She also said that the outcomes ‘may lead’ to the GPC considering an indicative strike ballot for GPs in the spring and a formal ballot after April.
She said: ‘We meet on Thursday, the first of February, and I anticipate that a referendum will be put in process to the profession from the next week after that.
‘What happens on the back of it, that’s not for me to determine. We’ll have to see what the profession says, but depending upon what the profession responds to us, it may then lead us to consider an indicative ballot later in the spring.
‘If NHS England and the Department of Health feel they must impose a contract that we don’t agree with from April, and if an indicative ballot suggests that this is felt strongly enough by the profession, then I think we would have to move to a formal ballot after April.’
She added that the process could go into later this year, around the time of the election.
‘I could see that playing out into the summer. And I could then see us looking at putting in place a menu of collective action that might be cumulative, sequenced or complemented with longer term action in the background.
‘I can see that collective action playing out into the autumn, and even into winter. And of course, we know what’s happening in autumn and winter: a general election.
‘So if we are forced down this road, we will make access and protection of your local GP, in your family surgery, the doorstep conversation during the election campaign – which it needs to be, and it’s time we spelled it out to the public and called out what is happening to us as a profession.’
Dr Bramall-Stainer added that ‘it is sad’ that ‘the one part of the NHS’ that has not taken industrial action, but has instead increased productivity, ‘is being forced into this position’.
‘I think it will be a catastrophic failure on the part of colleagues in NHS England and the Department of Health, that they have not gone to the Treasury to seek resource to match the offers they have made to other branches of practice,’ she added.
Dr Bramall-Stainer also said that the voice of LMCs ‘is paramount’ and that she ‘truly believes in conference policy’ and in consulting the profession on the offer.
In their November conference, LMC leaders voted in favour of balloting members ‘once the outcome of the negotiations is known’ as part of a motion that reiterated existing conference policy.
She said: ‘We’ve heard it said before that chairs of GPC have labelled conference nothing but a pantomime, nothing but a distraction.
‘As a former chair of the UK conference, for me conferences are sacrosanct, the voice of LMCs is paramount – you ignore conference at your peril, you ignore grassroots GPs and what they’re saying at your peril.
‘And the policy that came out of England conference on 24 November, was that any new contract offer would need to be put to a referendum of the profession.
‘So therefore, I shall be putting this year’s contract offer whatever it ends up looking like in a referendum to the profession.’
The GPC is currently still in negotiations with the Government and NHS England over next year’s GP contract.
The current five-year GP contract will come to an end in March, and the GPC is surveying grassroots GPs on their wishes for the future contract.
As part of that survey, GPs are being asked for their views on whether continuity of care should be included in the GP contract and on the future of PCNs.
READERS' COMMENTS [14]
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Well that all sounds very positive
Totally support this approach – well done for your proactive stance here.
so, before we hear their offer, we’re preparing to strike? OK then…
The offer is clearly rubbish, I suggest prepare to strike
And the result will be ignored.
An appropriate and necessary position to start with. Well done
In the event GP Contractors do go on strike, will they end up having to provide emergency cover for the “worried well” (just like every other day)?
Action can take many forms, and what we have seen in other branches of practice would not necessarily be replicated by GPs.
In other words ‘no striking’. Dead cat on the table politics… the revolving door of the medico-politico-managerial complex…. Can you hear the sounds of scraping of deck chairs being rearranged by our reps? RIP Primary care, listen carefully and you can hear it whispering “I told you I was ill”! Too late, too late….just too late.
Gps never took industrial action since 1970’s and unlikely to do so.
Continuity is care is a must for primary care
Let’s stop pretending that it’s possible for GP partners to voluntarily close their businesses. We can only talk about asymmetrical warfare. It must not compromise patient care or be financially detrimental to our businesses. Let’s throw some ideas.
Like not engaging with appraisal, revalidation in mass, not engaging with medical examiner system.
unless there are signed handing-back of contracts ready to go and the partners are willing to see it through, there is no way this is going to work. Unlike hopsital, we close for one day and we just pick up the pieces the next day. nothing stops of changes. Like the weekends or long bank holidays.
As Some Bloke says, striking not a serious or wise option. However, disengagement from all activities not directly connected to good patient care should stop, CQC, Appraisal/revalidation, bullshit meetings, QOF, all non F2F interactions for a start. Annoy the government while providing more and better care.
Prediction:
1. Contract won’t actually be that bad – it’s just for a year and the government wants to avoid unrest running up to the election.
2. It will go to referendum and be rejected – because moral is so low anything short of scrapping qof, cqc etc and trebling GP pay is going to be rejected.
3. BMA will ballot for strike action and that, too, will be rejected. GPs don’t strike, they leave or cut down hours.
4. The BMA and, by extension, GPs, all look like fools. The contract is imposed anyway. GPs are weakened because the government knows they won’t follow through on their threats. There’s a reason consultants got 11% or whatever and the junior doctors similar, and GP partners got nothing. You van’t talk tough if you have nothing to back it up.