LMC Update – 07 June 2024

GPC England ballot for GP contractors / partners – If Not Now, When?

Everybody loves an election swingometer. This one has been designed by our team to explain why we must proceed with taking action to save general practice. Take a close look: it shows how high the backdated uplift would need to be just to restore real-terms funding to 2018/19 levels. So, the election timing is ideal. The new Government will receive a recommendation from DDRB and will make a decision on a backdated uplift right in the middle of our ballot. Spoiler alert: it will not be anywhere near enough. A new government on 5 July will change nothing.

DDRB Uplift swingometer

What will each possible % DDRB uplift really mean, in real terms, for core contract funding compared to 2018/19?

* Assuming the recommended DDRB uplift is applied to both Staffing Expenses and Contractor Pay elements of the contract. Existing contract uplifts for respective elements have been subtracted.

For context, NHSE and DHSC have recommended 2%. But 10.7% is the uplift required to restore real-terms funding to 2018/19 levels.

When the next Government takes the reins on 5 July, it is very unlikely they will go significantly beyond the recommendations of DDRB. What effect would (for example) a 4% uplift have on your practice? Look at the swingometer: you’ll see this represents much less in real terms than your practice was receiving 5 years ago. A 4% uplift is still a 7% real-terms cut.

What does that mean? It means the closures of GP surgeries will continue. Those that struggle on will find it even more difficult to offer enough appointments and manage their workload. This is a vicious spiral, and it’s why we have no choice but to Take Action to Save General Practice – Protect Your Practice, Protect Your Patients.

At the Roadshows we will guide you through the list of potential actions practices can take – which can be chosen from among the menu within our BMA GP Practice Survival Toolkit. The national roadshows will cover the period our online ballot will be open for GP contractors / partners across England, from Monday 17 June, closing 29 July ahead of action commencing from Thursday 1 August. There will also be an opportunity to join the BMA and get three months’ membership free from 17 June.

GP contractors/partners will be asked to vote YES and send a powerful message to the new Government to agree to a new contract for GP practices across England.

We need to fix the contract, not the model. Show the next Government that you are committed to fight for your future, and to reassure your patients that ‘GPs Are On Your Side’.

BMA membership details 

It is vital that you keep your BMA membership details up to date so you can vote in the non-statutory ballot for all GP contractors / partners in England that has just been announced.

Following the referendum BMA member services have refreshed the GP membership system.

To vote in the ballot, we need you to login to www.bma.org.ukto check your details are correct. We must have the right information for your vote to count, so please double check. If you have any issues updating your details, email gpcontract@bma.org.uk for further assistance. We need:

• Your personal details, including a valid email address
• Place of work details for all your roles

We must have the right information for your vote to count. Please double check!

In this first ballot, GP contractors / partner need to vote YES to send a message to Government that we are ready to stand up for a better service for our patients, and to protect our practices.

Please check and update your details at: BMA – Sign In

If you are not a BMA GP member, you can join here: www.bma.org.uk/join

GP workforce data

The latest workforce data showed that the NHS had the equivalent of 27,606 fully qualified full-time GPs in April 2024. We have the equivalent of 1,759 fewer fully qualified full time GPs than we did in September 2015. During this time, there has been a rise in the number of patients, with April 2024 seeing yet another record-breaking number. GPs are now responsible for almost 20% more patients than in 2015, demonstrating ever mounting workload pressures.

The GP Partner workforce in particular has been shrinking since 2015. There were 16,534 FTE GP partners in April 2023 but 16,091 in April 2024: a total loss of 404 FTE GP partners in the past 12 months alone. 

We have lost a further 101 GP practices in England over the past year – reflecting a long-term trend of closures and mergers.

This fall in both GP partner numbers and GP practices coincides with a rise in patients: as of April 2024, there was another record-high of 63.32 million patients registered with practices in England – an average of 10,065 patients registered per practice.

GP unemployment crisis survey

Whilst practices are closing due to lack of funds, it’s clear that available resources to engage locum GPs has also collapsed and locum GP employment is in crisis. The underfunding of general practice combined with the exclusion of GPs from ARRS funding has led to a ridiculous situation where we have patients desperately wanting to see a GP, practices in need of GPs, and GPs in need of work. For many, the only viable decision has been to leave general practice or the NHS altogether and find more stable work. The sessional GPC are working hard to combat this issue, but we need data to support us in influencing, lobbying and campaigning right now, during the election campaign.

This is where you come in. We want to share your experiences. 

It’s very important that any GPs undertaking locum sessions respond to this survey.

We want to hear from any GP across England who has undertaken locum sessions in the past 12 months. The survey is also open to non-BMA members. All responses will be anonymised.

The survey will close at midnight on Sunday 9^th June 2024.  Please complete the survey as soon as possible, to ensure our negotiating position is as strong as possible.

Share the Survey with ALL your GP colleagues now: Locum employment survey