BP Newspaper Issue 8 v5 1-31 (lores) Aug. 2015 | Page 4

BMA Chairman, Dr Mark Porter described the deal as “a set of old, repackaged ideas distracting from the central issues”. He was particularly critical of the suggestion that GP surgeries should open seven days a week, 12 hours a day, while thousands already worked in out-of-hours services, propping up the NHS. “When will they provide substance over rhetoric and recycled ideas, to focus on the detail of how they will support GPs already burnt out from overwork, in a service where more than 10,000 GPs are predicted to leave in the next five years? They don’t say”, he said. But a more pragmatic Dr Nav Chana, National Association of Primary Care (NAPC) Chair, said: “NAPC recognises the importance of improving access to primary care across seven days, however, we need to ensure we first get the system right “in hours” and build on the evidence around patient access to avoid falling in the trap of supply induced demand. In addition there may be many more solutions to be explored for providing a seven-day service.” Dr Chaand Nagpaul, General Practice Committee Chair, said: “The priority must be to first address this overwhelming workload pressure GPs face, in order to re-establish general practice as a career that is rewarding and appealing.” Other GP leaders have welcomed Mr Hunt’s new deal. Royal College of GPs Chair, Dr Maureen Baker, said: “The Secretary of State makes many commitments which, if they come to fruition, will put general practice on a more stable and secure footing for the future and ensure that family doctors can keep pace with rocketing patient demand and increasingly complex caseloads.” Dr Michael Dixon, chair of NHS Alliance, said Jeremy Hunt’s affirmation that general practice was “the jewel in the NHS crown”, indicated a “new dawn” for general practice and primary care. He said fundamental to Mr Hunt’s proposals was th