Dear Colleagues
At the end of last month, we experienced a somewhat urgent need to make some changes to our systems to support the BMA efforts to maintain pressure on NHS England and, in turn, the government to recognise and respond to the pressures we are facing in general practice. The events were triggered by reports that NHS England were trying to undermine the actions available to us by removing the ability of practices to make a choice of how data may, in future, be coded into our notes.
We would like to thank you all for taking time out of your weekends to support that. Thankfully, it appears that the action taken by practices up and down the country gave NHS England and IT providers pause for thought.
As I’m sure you’re aware, this action was and is, part of a wider BMA campaign aimed at challenging the funding and workload crisis in general practice that, if not corrected, will inevitably lead to the collapse of our profession to the detriment of practices and patients.
With this in mind, we would like to address the BMA proposals for further action both now and in the future.
BMA GPC have carefully drawn up a set of actions that practices may choose to take. These have been and scrutinised by King’s Council and the BMA are confident that they are legally solid and will not lead to contractors putting their contract at risk. In conversation with LMCs nationally, we have begun the process of considering how we can support practices who choose to do so, in taking locally appropriate actions based upon these suggestions.
We aim to consider the local factors and how we might support practices working together maximise the impact where it is aimed, and ensure our voices are heard, while keeping patients safe and managing the risk of contract challenges to practices. Our intention is to present more detail over the coming weeks as the work progresses.
Both the BMA and we at your LMC are very aware that our patients can be our strongest critics but also our greatest allies and we must harness this to ensure that they come along with us on this journey and recognise these actions are to protect our practices so we can continue to provide them with the high quality care we know we can and do deliver. Tools and resources to support this are and will continue to be available.
We have set out the BMA’s nine point ‘practice survival guide’ and added a brief narrative below each as to the type of actions we may consider locally. Click here to view.
We recognise that the primary target for these actions is NHSE and the government so on this basis your LMC will be offering support to trusts and commissioners impacted by these actions to escalate these problems to those bodies. Indeed, we will be sharing this letter with system teams to allow them to update their risk registers.
General Practice is on the brink. To echo the words of our GPCE chair, Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer:
If not now? When?
The time is now, it is time to step up and protect general practice and protect our patients, as reinforced by the demise of not only the GP contract nationally, but other infrastructure which was once supported by GMICB or NHSE such as occupational health provision, and protected learning to name just two live examples.
We will continue to provide updates as things progress and remain available through our usual channels.
Yours Sincerely
Salford, Stockport and Trafford LMC Executive
Dr Aarya Prabhakaran, SST Medical Director and Medical Officer, Trafford locality
Dr Howard Sunderland, Medical Officer, Stockport locality
Eve Mannerings, SST Chief Executive Officer