INMYVIEW... WENEED24-HOURGPs

RECENT images of people languishing on trolleys in A&E for hours not only demonstrate the human cost of the cracks in NHS emergency provision, but also put the spotlight on an important element of it — the GP out-of-hours service.

It has been 14 years since the huge upheaval in the way GP night and weekend services operate. Prior to 2004, each surgery would be part of a cooperative of GPs who would take it in turns to tend to those who fell ill outside normal surgery hours.

After 2004, GPs were given the choice to relinquish this service, either to a commercial provider or to the local primary care trust. The result is hospitals crammed with people who feel they have no other option but to go to A&E.

To me the answer is clear: improve the funding for outof-hours care.

The money provided by the Government is set by regular negotiations between the British Medical Association and NHS England.

I had hoped the recent discussions between these two bodies might have paved the way for an improvement, but there is no relief in sight.

For 2018/2019 there has been a 1 per cent increase in pay for GPs, an uplift in expenses and additional finance to cover the cost of medico-legal insurance, which is spiralling due to growing litigation.

The investment for these changes by NHS England amounts to £256 million, but there are no plans for any change in the way out-of-hours services are to be provided.

Rather than dodge the issue, the Government needs to grasp this nettle, and quickly.