GPS could strike over hours as face-to-face checks fall

GPS are threatening to strike over a contract that will extend their hours.

Doctors at the annual meeting of the British Medical Association (BMA) later this month will hear fresh calls for industrial action over changes imposed on the profession.

The union’s GP members voted in favour of such protests last November.

However, they held off taking action, amid low turn-out and calls from their new leader for a “fresh start”.

But motions timetabled for the BMA meeting in Brighton later this month will urge the GP committee to “act upon the GP ballot of 2021 and to organise opposition to the imposition of the new contract including industrial [action]”.

Under the terms, GPS have been told by NHS England that by October they must offer routine appointments – including face-to-face checks on Saturdays, as well as Monday to Friday.

It follows concern that patients have struggled to see GPS, following changes that led to a drop in the proportion of appointments delivered face to face.

Research by Imperial College London shows that face-to-face appointments for children fell by 90 per cent during the first six months of the pandemic. The study, published in the British Journal of General Practice, found that contact with GPS fell by 41 per cent.

Family doctors have been told that from October, routine appointments must be available between 9am and 5pm on Saturdays in their local area, as well as on weekdays.

It means patients should be able to access such appointments locally, though not necessarily at their own practice. But the plans have provoked anger from many GPS, who say they are already overstretched.

The motion from London regional council, which will be discussed at the BMA meeting later this month, comes alongside calls for routine self-defence training for all clinical staff and stronger sentences for those who attack healthcare workers.

A survey of more than 800 GPS in Pulse magazine shows that about 47 per cent plan to retire by the age of 60.

The most common reasons doctors cited for wanting to leave the profession were burnout and workload although issues with pensions were also a significant factor.