GPs? They’re underworked and overpaid ... says NHS’s top GP!
... before backlash forces him to quit
‘Significant anger among profession’
THE country’s most senior GP has resigned after he was caught suggesting his profession was overpaid and underworked on a medical website.
Dr Arvind Madan used the pseudonym Devil’s Advocate to criticise family doctors in online posts.
In June, the NHS England director of primary care wrote anonymously: ‘We [GPs] can get 6 figure salaries for working 4 days a week, 45 weeks a year.
‘Run that past the general public and see how much sympathy you get.’
One of his most controversial remarks was made in May when he suggested it was good that many GP surgeries were closing down.
Responding to a story that 450 practices had shut in three years, he said: ‘Let’s face it, there are probably too many small practices out there struggling to do everything you would want for your family in an era of modern general practice.’
Yesterday he resigned from the post he has held for nearly five years, admit- ting he had ‘lost the confidence’ of GPs. He issued a statement, which read: ‘It was never my intention to cause offence but rather to provoke a more balanced discussion about contentious issues acting as a devil’s advocate.’
‘I would like to apologise unreservedly to those who have been upset, particularly in smaller practices.’
Dr Madan – who also practises as a GP in East London – had posted dozens of negative comments on the Pulse website since January 2017.
In a December post, he claimed that more senior GPs were working part-time. Responding to a story about the doctors’ salaries falling, he wrote: ‘Is this reduction controlling for the fact that partners are also becoming more parttime so you would expect to see a drop in earnings per GP?’
GPs earn between £56,000 to £90,000 a year but many can make much more as they are effectively operating as small businesses.
Last week GPs who subscribe to Pulse, the profession’s magazine, became aware of Dr Madan’s identity. They set up a petition calling for his resignation which received 1,000 signatures, while the British Medical Association called on him to clarify his remarks.
NHS England, which runs the health service, insisted it was his own decision to leave and he had not been sacked.
Dr Madan added: ‘I wish to make it categorically clear that these comments are not a reflection of NHS England policy, and it is now clear to me that trying to move the debate on in this way is not compatible with my role as director of primary care. I would like to apologise unreservedly to those who have been upset, particularly in smaller practices.’
Dr Mark Sanford-Wood, deputy chair of the BMA’s GP committee said: ‘We have today written to NHS England raising our concerns and demanding action after Dr Madan’s damaging comments caused significant anger amongst the profession at a time when GPs require support from NHS England. It is only right that he has therefore done the right thing and offered his resignation.’
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the BMA’s council, said: ‘NHS England must now make clear it values and fully supports all practices – unequivocally, the vital role of smaller practices – and demonstrate its commitment to all GPs in testing times for the profession.’