SIR – We are asking Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, to reconsider his New Deal for General Practice, which will do nothing to reduce workload, red tape or demand.

He pledges 5,000 new GPs and 5,000 further primary care staff; a further year in hospitals for GP trainees; a national “marketing campaign” to encourage general practice as a career; and financial incentives for deprived areas and struggling practices. In return, GPs are to provide routine care seven days a week.

The promised 5,000 GPs will not compensate for all the GPs retiring early or emigrating. Extending training will delay entry into general practice.

Marketing will not fool medical students; workload issues and vilification in the press cannot be glossed over. Recent experiences in Leicestershire prove that a “golden hello” does not attract GPs.

The financial sticking plasters that are offered neither address why practices struggle nor provide reliable ongoing financial support. This “new deal” won’t help GPs struggling with Monday to Friday services at current levels of demand. Extending hours will mean less continuity of care as services are spread more thinly, potentially leading to more emergency admissions.

We propose that the Department of Health should increase investment in primary care to 11 per cent of the NHS budget. It should invest in existing out-of-hours services that are already providing a seven-day GP service.

The Department of Health should also scrap unnecessary regulation by the Care Quality Commission. Finally, it should improve GP morale by refraining from negative press stories.

Our proposals to Mr Hunt have already gained the signatures of 2,000 GPs and more are signing an online petition. Dr Susie Bayley Dr Samir Dawlatly Dr Zoe Norris Members of the Campaign for General Practice Survival Facebook Group

and 2,000 others; see telegraph.co.uk