GPs could curb number of patients they see after vote for collective action
1 August 2024, 11:04 | Updated: 1 August 2024, 11:37
Family doctors have voted to take collective action for the first time in 60 years, the British Medical Association has confirmed.
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GPs will be able to pick and choose from series of actions set after the BMA confirmed 98% of its members voted to strike.
This could include reducing the number of patients they see each day to 25. The average is 37 but some practices see as many as 50.
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Doctors could also stop carrying out work they are not officially contracted to do.
The last time GPs took collective action was in 1964 when family doctors collectively handed in undated resignations to the Wilson government.
This led to reform including the Family Doctor Charter of 1965.
Earlier today, the Health Secretary urged doctors not to 'punish' patients.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Wes Streeting said he could "understand why GPs wanted to punish the previous government", but warned that "taking collective action will only punish patients".
Mr Streeting added that the previous government failed to recruit enough doctors, leaving GPs "overburdened".
There are fears any industrial action could bring the NHS to a 'standstill' as Brits are forced to turn to other services.
“If all GPs implemented the patient cap, that could have a catastrophic effect on the entire healthcare system”, Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, told The Guardian.
“General practice is now supporting more patients than before the Covid pandemic, so any reduction in their activity will put more pressure on other services, including A&E.”
