So the big idea for GPs to move to a salaried service was voted down.
I fully expected to say ‘shot down in flames’ but that wasn’t actually the case.
Because, around the room, there was a lot more support for the motion than you might expect.
Many local leaders said that the recruitment and retention of GPs demanded radical solutions, and moving to a salaried model would have to be considered.
One speaker, Dr Thomas Kilnoch, pointed to a survey carried out it Merseyside, that found that only 6% of trainees wanted to go into partnerships.
It follows the news from Scotland that they were going to move ‘as close as possible’ to a fully salaried model.
Elsewhere, areas such as Hull and London have mooted the idea of a fully salaried model.
Meanwhile,one GP told me today that one of her partners had calculated their hourly pay at £13.50.
There is still huge opposition against moving to a salaried model,and I hardly have to spell out the reasons for this.
But, another year of general practice in decline, with partner pay declining even more, and it will be interesting to see whether a similar motion gains more support next year.
Jaimie Kaffash is news editor at Pulse
