GPs have ‘never delivered more phenomenal value for money’ than right now, the chair of the BMA’s GP Committee for England said, opening today’s annual LMC conference.
As England’s local medical leaders get together to set out policy for the year ahead, Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer urged practices to participate in its new grassroots survey to inform contract negotiations.
Highlighting that practices receive just 7.2% of the NHS budget, but provide 367 million appointments, with 2,200 fewer GPs, she stressed: ‘That is phenomenal value to the government. That is phenomenal value to NHS England.’
She also told GPs that they should be thinking of capping workload, as per BMA advice, stating that the crumbling state of general practice in England – now rarely referred to as the ‘jewel in the crown of the NHS’ – translates to ‘industrial action in slow motion’.
‘Trusts provide what they can with what they have in the time they’ve got. Do you? Like trusts you have to control the speed of your own hamster wheel and that means providing a safe number of appointments that you can with the staff you have.’
She also made the point that ‘money spent on ARRS could have bought 14,000 GPs’.
‘Additional roles are really helpful but let’s be clear they dilute the capacity of the GPs we have left,’ she said.
‘More appointments doesn’t lead to better outcomes for patients. Quantity doesn’t equal quality.’
And she posed the question to the profession: ‘What are we going to stop doing?’
‘We’re at a tipping point, the financial envelope has not expanded for five years, but the population has.
‘We’re going to have to stabilise, the biggest thing is safety first and this is the in positions that we’re putting forward in terms of what is going to happen next year. This is not what we want but what we need.’
Following the survey of practices, which is to launch next week, the GPC will ‘create a manifesto’ and take the evidence to the Government ‘after Christmas’, said Dr Bramall-Stainer.
It will make the point to Government that stability for GP practices is what will bring improved access for patients.
England LMCs are meeting in London today and tomorrow to debate key future policy for the profession, including voting on a motion calling for the end to local enhanced services (LESs) and on separating acute on-the-day care from planned GP care.
The attitude of the BMA is fundamental to the ongoing problems we have in general practice. The relationship we have with NHSE and DOHSC is abusive one. Impossible workloads are forced on us with truly inadequate resources whilst conteacts are imposed to ignore true market forces. That is not “value for money” , it’s abuse and contempt.
If doctors really valued their time and expertise we would have walked away from these contacts on mass years ago. The BMA has definitely played a role our current team state of servitude.