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