GPs have voted to take unprecedented industrial action that could cut the number of patient appointments they make each day by a third from today.
More than 8,500 GPs in England took part in the British Medical Association (BMA) vote, with 98.3 per cent supporting the halt.
This means that from today, BMA GPs will be able to choose from a list of 10 industrial actions, such as limiting employment, and family doctors will be able to choose to implement as many as they want.
Patient groups have already branded the move “selfish”, warning that GPs risk harming those who need care and losing public support.
One NHS chief even said the effect of a cap on appointment numbers could be “catastrophic”.
However, the health service has asked citizens to continue going as usual for medical care, despite the industrial action.
More than 8,500 GPs in England took part in the vote, with 98.3 per cent backing the measure. This means that from today, the British Medical Association is urging GPs to choose from a list of ten measures, and practices can choose to implement as many or as few as they wish.
Patient groups have already branded the move “selfish” and warned that GPs risk harming those who need care and losing public support. One NHS boss went so far as to say the effect of a cap on appointment numbers could be “catastrophic”. Pictured: Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chair of the BMA’s GP committee
The ten forms of protest include one that would put a limit on the number of “daily contacts with patients.”
This includes in-person appointments, remote consultations and online messages.
According to recommendations implemented by the BMA and the European General Practitioners’ Union, GPs should not carry out more than 25 consultations a day to ensure “safe care”.
But some doctors are reportedly having to see nearly 90 patients a day in some areas amid an appointment crisis. The average is around 37.
Patients who exceed the limit of 25 appointments per GP would be diverted to “local urgent care centres” such as 111 or walk-in clinics when the total is reached.
According to estimates by primary care leaders, up to 3 million GP visits a month could disappear as a result of the GP cap being imposed.
Other measures include refusing to cooperate with standard NHS systems, such as those used to refer patients to hospital specialists or to share data with local health planners.
During the action, the clinics will remain open from Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Earlier this week, Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chair of the BMA’s GP committee, said the move was aimed at “bringing the NHS to a standstill very quickly”.
However, he insisted: “It is a strike, but the target is not the patients, but the National Health Service of England (and the Department of Health).”
Responding to the outcome of today’s vote, he added: ‘We have no choice but to move forward with class action to protect our practices and our patients.
‘It won’t be a big explosion, but a slow burn. The impact is unlikely to be felt for some time.
‘We hope this will give the new Government time to consider our proposed solutions, including fixing our contract once and for all.
‘GPs should be the gateway to the NHS, not the doormat.
‘We don’t want to have to take this next step, but we must if we are to avoid our services collapsing completely.
‘A key promise of the Labour manifesto was to bring back the family doctor, and we hope to ensure that becomes a reality as soon as possible.’
As the vote was not a statutory vote for industrial action, the union did not have to give notice of its actions and can begin immediately.
The turnout was only 67.7 percent, meaning that one in three GPs eligible to vote did not do so.
Dr Amanda Doyle, NHS National Director for Primary Care and Community Services, said: ‘GPs and their teams are the bedrock of the NHS, and we recognise that they are working incredibly hard and coping with record demand.
‘On behalf of patients, the NHS has a duty to plan collective action and we will continue to work with the government to find a solution and end the collective action.
‘Our message to the public remains the same: they should continue to come forward for medical care during this industrial action, as GP surgeries will remain open.’
This comes after the Government announced today that it had added GPs to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), in the hope that practices will be able to recruit 1,000 more doctors this year.
The ARRS scheme was introduced in 2019 and allows primary care networks and GP practice groups operating in the same area to recruit for other roles, such as podiatrists and occupational therapists, and claim reimbursement for their salaries.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting added £82m to the £1.4bn ARRS fund to fund what he described as an “emergency measure”.
The extension of the scheme is intended to allow practices to recruit “newly qualified GPs” who face possible unemployment this summer.
The announcement follows a commitment made by the Government earlier this week to increase GP pay by 6 per cent, following the recommendation of the Doctors’ Pay Review Body.
But senior doctors at the time said the increase was “not sufficient to address the erosion” of GP funding.
GPs have not organised industrial action since 1964, when family doctors tendered undated resignations to Harold Wilson’s Labour government.
However, in 2012 a significant number of GPs went on strike to protest against increased pension contributions and the raising of the retirement age for doctors.
It is estimated that only one-fifth to one-third of practices participated in the measure.
But the BMA has spearheaded recent strikes by junior doctors and consultants, hampering efforts to clear waiting lists that built up during the pandemic.