The new deal for GPs was introduced by Jeremy Hunt last week and today it was branded as “old, repackaged ideas distracting from issues” at the BMA annual conference in Liverpool.
The secretary of state for health pledged 5,000 more GPs, but also said that the investment in primary care will be dependent on the professions commitment to a seven-day NHS, speaking in London last Friday.
Dr Mark Porter, the BMA council chair said today: “The government is trumpeting its ‘new deal for GPs’. Who are they kidding? These proposals are neither new, nor a deal, but old repackaged ideas distracting from the central issues.”
He went on to say that more detail is needed from government on recruitment, trainees, and how they will address burnout is not yet clear.
“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?”
“We’re promised 5,000 new GPs by 2020. How will these new GPs be ready to start work in five years’ time when it takes 10 years to train a GP? They don’t say. How are they even going to recruit more GPs trainees when hundreds of existing training posts are still unfilled? They don’t say.”
