2024-25 GP contract referendum – England
Join one of our webinars to find out more.
GPC England has rejected the 2024/25 GP contract changes. The contract has now been put to BMA GP members in a referendum. The referendum cannot prevent the Government from choosing to impose their changes to the contract, but it will send a strong signal as to how the profession feels about the contract, a potential third successive contractual imposition by Government and where we collectively go next.
Find out more about the current contract changes here.
You can watch Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer discussing the GP referendum here: GPC England contract referendum - YouTube
To ensure you can feel fully informed before you vote, we are holding a series of webinars and as we receive your feedback we will add FAQs to our webpage www.bma.org.uk/gpcontract early next week, which you can read and reflect on with your practice colleagues. As we receive more feedback, we will update the FAQs.
What to expect:
- A presentation from GPC England Officers outlining the context of the 2024/25 contract and what it means both for your practice, and you as a GP. A summary of next steps and the choice BMA GP members will need to make in the referendum
- A roadmap of what the months ahead may look like
- The opportunity to have your questions answered – please send your questions in advance to gpreferendum@bma.org.uk
Webinar dates, times and Microsoft Teams joining links:
South East Coast: Wednesday 13th March - 19.30 - 21.00
North East: Wednesday 13th March - 19.30 - 21.00
North West: Thursday 14th March - 12.30 - 14.00
West Midlands: Tuesday 19th March - 19.30 - 21.00
South Central: Wednesday 20th March - 12.30 - 14.00
South West: Wednesday 20th March - 12.30 - 14.00
Yorkshire & Humber: Wednesday 20th March - 19:30 – 21:00
East of England: Wednesday 20th March - 19:30 – 21:00
National Catch-Up: Thursday 21st March
12.30 - 14.00 Microsoft Teams link
19.30 - 21.00 Microsoft Teams link
These webinars will NOT be recorded, so please attend your regional slot, or a national catch-up session. The referendum opened on 7 March and closes midday Wednesday 27 March. You should have received an email with a unique voting link.
How you vote will determine our next steps as a profession.
GP Workforce – January 2024
There are 48 more fully qualified, full-time equivalent GPs in January 2024 than in December 2023, marking seven months of sustained increases. However, we have the equivalent of 1,830 fewer fully qualified full time GPs than we did in September 2015. During this time, there has been a rise in the number of patients registered at practices, with January 2024 seeing another record-breaking rise. GPs are now responsible for 18% more patients than in 2015, creating ever mounting workload pressures.
· In January 2024, the NHS had the equivalent of 27,534 fully qualified full-time GPs. This is an increase (48 FTE) from the previous month. January 2024 marks seven months of, albeit small, increases in full-time equivalent fully qualified GPs, with an additional 382 fully qualified GPs joining the workforce during this time.
· However, the NHS been losing fully qualified GPs at an alarming rate since 2015, with GP partners making up a substantial part of this shortfall (when this data set began). We now have the equivalent of 1,830 fewer fully qualified full time GPs than we did in September 2015.
· The GP Partner workforce in particular has been shrinking since 2015. There were 16,579 FTE GP partners in January 2023 but 16,176 in January 2024: a total loss of 403 FTE GP partners in the past 12 months alone.
· The number of GP practices in England has decreased by 106 over the past year – reflecting a long-term trend of closures and mergers.
· This fall in both staff numbers and GP practice coincides with a rise in patients: as of January 2024, there was another record-high of 63.15 million patients registered with practices in England – an average of 10,005 patients registered per practice.
· As a result, each full-time equivalent GP is now responsible for an average of 2,294 patients. This is an increase of 356 patients per GP, or 18%, since 2015, creating an ever-mounting workload in general practice.
Read more on our analysis - “Pressures in General Practice”
HRT guidance updates
An updated HRT PPC guidance document has been published by DHSC. This is to reflect changes to the definition of products in scope of the HRT PPC, following the launch of new products onto the market, and an agreed process for managing discontinuations. The latest version can be found here: HRT PPC guidance | NHSBSA.
Preparing for the Spring 2024 COVID-19 vaccination campaign
Preparations are underway for the Spring 2024 COVID-19 vaccination campaign, following the achievements of the 2023 Autumn campaigns. The NHS is focusing on delivering a seasonal COVID-19 vaccine dose, aligning with government recommendations. Eligible cohorts include adults aged 75 and over, care home residents, and immunosuppressed individuals. Efforts are being made to ensure equity in access and address variations in uptake. Funding and contract arrangements are extended to support vaccination activities, with plans for supply and delivery to be finalised soon. The commitment of healthcare professionals is crucial for the campaign's success. Read more here.
PRSB survey – GP activity data
The Professional Records & Standards Body (PRSB) are surveying GPs as part of a set of proposals to implement a standard set of SNOMED codes to capture consultation mode and GP activity data. The survey closes on 15th March and seeks to garner views from practices on how day-to-day activity that takes place can best be defined and recorded.
NIHR In-Practice Fellowship
The NIHR In-Practice Fellowship (IPF) initially offered academic training to fully qualified general practitioners, general dental practitioners, and community dentists, who are in NHS practice in England. The eligibility for this scheme has been broadened in 2024 to cover all other health and care professionals working in a primary care setting, including (but not restricted to) nurses, midwives, pharmacists and health visitors. This enhanced offer will enable a larger cohort of health and care professionals to access research training and development, to advance their academic research careers. In-Practice Fellowship (IPF) Round 18 | NIHR
Professional Record Standards Body
The PRSB is aligning its standards to the new Pathology standard (DAPB4101) going through approval at the DAPB in March. The current components used in PRSB standards were developed before the recent pathology standards. The PRSB need to ensure that test results and reports that clinicians receive can be shared digitally with their colleagues and can be incorporated into shared care records. The PRSB are asking clinical informaticians with an interest in pathology to review PRSB standards in light of the new standards to ensure that they align. To support this work, the PRSB are holding a webinar on Thursday 21 March, 11am - 1pm, to register click here.
GPC UK Regional Elections
The voting period is now open for seats to the General Practitioners Committee (GPC) in the following regions:
Norfolk/Suffolk/Great Yarmouth & Waveney
Enfield & Haringey/Camden & Islington/Barnet/Kensington & Chelsea/Westminster
Sefton/Liverpool/Wirral
Salford & Trafford/Manchester/Stockport
Forth Valley/Fife/Lothian/Tayside
E Sussex/W Sussex
Derbys/Notts
Herefordshire/Worcs/Warks/Coventry
Birmingham/Solihull
To submit your vote for any of the above seats please visit https://elections.bma.org.uk/
Non-BMA members - You will need a BMA web account to access the election – you may already have one if you have registered for one to attend an LMC conference or if you have previously been a BMA member – if you think you have an account but are not sure please email elections@bma.org.uk with your GMC number and the team can check for you.
If you do not have an account, please contact support@bma.org.uk to let them know you need a web account to be able to participate in the GPC election. A member of the team will help you create an account and you will be assigned an BMA ID number, please email elections@bma.org.uk with this number and details of the region you wish to participate in. The team can then grant you access to the election.
The deadline for voting is 12pm Tuesday 26th March 2024.
If you have any queries regarding the election process, please contact elections@bma.org.uk.
UK LMC Conference 23 and 24 May 2024 – Newport Wales
The deadline to register for the conference is Wednesday 1 May 2024. Please ensure that you have registered to attend as this is a registered only event. You can register here.
Updating LMC contact details
A reminder for LMCs when updating any contact details, or any changes to personnel, to please email Karen Day kday@bma.org.uk.
GPC England committee pages and guidance for practices
Read more about the work of GPCE and practical guidance for GP practices. See the latest update on X @BMA_GPand read about BMA in the media. Contact us: info.GPC@bma.org.uk
Read the latest GPC England bulletin
Julius Parker
GPC England deputy chair
Email: jparker@bma.org.uk