GPs may insist on seeing patients face to face as part of a protest action against a new NHS contract which they say represents a pay cut.
Family doctors, who on average earn six-figure salaries, are planning “class action” over new terms that they say will make their surgeries financially unviable.
Their union, the British Medical Association (BMA), is considering several options, one of which will be to refuse online or telephone consultations.
Healthcare campaigners, who have called on GPs to restore in-person appointments as standard after they plummeted during the pandemic, welcomed the move and said patients would ironically receive a better quality of care. service.
Dennis Reed, of Silver Voices, said: “It seems counterintuitive to take industrial action that threatens to improve service to patients, but here we are.”
The BMA will vote GPs on protest actions this month. If the majority votes in favor, it is expected to happen in early August.
GPs, most of whom are self-employed and employed by NHS England, are unhappy because they believe the deal they are currently offered represents a pay cut.
‘If it changes the paradigm so that face-to-face dating goes back to being the default option, like it used to be, then I’m all for it.
‘For doctors it is a way of working by the rules: they are going to use the slowest way to care for patients. But it is only the most time-consuming because it provides a better quality of service.
“If that point comes out of this, it will be a good result.”
He added that patients currently have to “run the gauntlet” when trying to get an appointment with their GP.
“It’s almost impossible,” he said. ‘First you have to explain to the receptionist why you want to see a doctor and then, most of the time, you are directed to a nurse or pharmacist.
‘Even if the doormen agree that you can speak to a doctor, it is usually just a phone appointment.
“This protest action would be a pretty positive change in the way surgeries work, but of course it’s just about going back to what used to happen before the pandemic.”
Damning NHS data recently showed that one in 20 patients are forced to wait at least four weeks for a GP appointment, with the number approaching one in 10 in some areas.
GPs, most of whom are self-employed and employed by NHS England, are unhappy because they believe the deal currently offered to them represents a pay cut in real terms.
The BMA will vote GPs on protest actions this month. If the majority votes in favor, it is expected to take place in early August.
Other proposals from BMA members include turning off GP Connect, a service that allows healthcare professionals to access GP records and medical notes, and suspending any voluntary services.
Dr Chandra Kanneganti, chair of the North Staffordshire Local Medical Committee, said Legumes that union members had devised a “menu” of ways to demonstrate their dissatisfaction.
He said: ‘One of the things that was on the menu was to stop counseling and guidance, and to stop things that don’t improve patient care.
‘And there are lots of options for that, they are proposing three different menus and we as LMC will be happy to recommend those options.
“I think that really rejuvenated people; I think this is something that people will vote for, I can definitely see that.”
In March, the BMA revealed its members “overwhelmingly” wanted to reject the government’s changes to their terms of service.
He said GPs were feeling “frustrated, angry and upset” and claimed the contract will allow clinics to get a “reference practice contract funding increase of 1.9 per cent well below inflation.” .
Although family doctors work about three days a week and earn six-figure salaries on average, they said the deal would force some surgeries to close.
Ministers quietly abandoned plans to recruit an extra 6,000 GPs by 2024, a promise made by Boris Johnson during the last election.
A BMA spokesperson said: ‘Under the current NHS contract, practices are required to offer e-consultations and telephone appointments when patients request them.
‘One collective action being explored by the BMA is for GPs to only offer face-to-face appointments, which may reduce the number of appointments available.
‘As GPs, who often live in the communities we serve, the last thing we want is for patients to experience long waits to see GPs.
‘However, without adequate investment in general medicine, the government is acutely aware that waiting times will only get worse. Our goal is to ensure patients receive timely care, but having sufficient resources is crucial to achieving this.”
He added that while discussions continue, nothing is final or “set.”
A spokesperson for NHS England said: “We will continue to collaborate with GPs, the BMA and other stakeholders to ensure patients receive high-quality care.”