GPs have overwhelmingly voted not to accept the Government’s imposed contract changes which are due to come in next week.
In a referendum organised by the BMA, which closed yesterday, GP members were asked: ‘Do you accept the 2024/25 GMS contract for general practice from Government and NHS England?’
Out of 19,000 GPs and registrars who took part, 99.2% voted ‘no’.
It is not a formal trade union ballot but a ‘temperature check’ of the profession, which will inform future formal ballots on potential collective action by GPs in protest at the Government’s successive contract impositions.
GPC England is meeting today to discuss the referendum outcome and the profession’s next possible steps.
The BMA has set out an approximate timeline for next steps following the result of the referendum, which could include industrial action to coincide with the next general election.
GPCE chair Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer said: ‘Today’s overwhelming result signals the start of our fight back, and we will bring our patients with us.
‘GP teams across England have almost 1.4 million patient contacts a day. That’s a lot of conversations, and we all want the same thing: access to continuity of care with their family doctor in a local GP surgery that has the right balance of GPs, nurses, and other staff, and is well-resourced to meet their needs today, tomorrow and in the months and years ahead.
‘It’s what patients want, and it’s what GPs want too.’
She added: ‘When I qualified as a GP in 2008, general practice was “the jewel in the crown of the NHS”. Fast forward to 2024, we are witnessing a “constructive dismissal” of general practice across England where £1.4bn of Treasury funds for practice staff are forbidden to be spent on recruiting more GPs and practice nurses.
‘This is despite almost 2,000 fewer GPs, more than 1,300 lost practices and six million more patients in the past decade. In fact, we now have hundreds of GPs unemployed – this is madness.
‘The unanimity of the vote in our referendum demonstrates the depth of feeling among the profession. In 20 years, I’ve never known GPs to be so frustrated, angry and upset. We are unable to offer our patients the care they want and need.’
Closing the Pulse LIVE London conference with a keynote speech yesterday, Dr Bramall-Stainer said 2,400 additional GPs have joined BMA since February, meaning 70% of qualified GPs are now members.
GPs need a ‘new contract’ after years of being ‘bullied and gaslit’, she told the conference.
Today, Dr Bramall-Stainer said: ‘GPC England meets today, to consider the profession’s next steps, in a move emboldened by 2,400 newly registered BMA GP members.’
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
