Looming industrial action from doctors proof system is failing GPs, says provincewide health body
Industrial action from doctors shows the current system is failing GPs, a provincewide body has said.
The Northern Ireland branch of the Royal College of General Practitioners describes looming collective action as an “unprecedented step” arising from a contract dispute with the Department of Health.
Earlier this month, GPs voted to withdraw some non-funded services from NHS primary care, complaining that too few resources per patient are being allocated to General Practice.
The move passed overwhelmingly; 80% of Northern Ireland’s GP practice partners voted, of whom 98.7% were in favour of collective action.
Now, the chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners in the province, Ursula Mason, says the vote “shows the strength of feeling amongst GPs across Northern Ireland”.
“It is clear the current contract is failing to provide GPs and their patients with the support that they need, and more resources are urgently required to tackle this,” she said.
“It is not for [the Royal College] to get involved in contractual negotiations, nor to influence any decision making about collective action – but it is disappointing that negotiations did not reopen, and we have arrived at the unprecedented position where collective action from GPs will commence imminently.
“Absolutely no GP will want to restrict the services they provide for their patients - and it needs to be made clear that GPs and their teams will still be working extremely hard to care for our patients. There are many aspects of what GPs provide that go well beyond the contractual requirements they are under and what they receive funding for, and this additional workload and the goodwill of the GPs delivering it, have been taken for granted for too long.
“We have written to the Minister for Health today to press him to intervene and come to a resolution that is fit for purpose for patients and the GP teams working harder and harder to provide the quality care our patients deserve.”
The collective action could see doctors limit the number of patients they see every day, stop “voluntary or unfunded” activities such as ordering a non-emergency ambulance for an outpatient and prescribing medication used in hospital tests.
They could also stop completing paperwork backlogs, or insist on referring patients to specialist care where appropriate.