RCGP responds to ballot result on collective action

College Chair Kamila Hawthorne responds to the results of the BMA’s ballot on collective action.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: "The result of the ballot shows the strength of feeling amongst GPs across England; the current GP contract is failing to provide GPs and their patients with the support that they need, and more resources are urgently required to tackle this. 

"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. But there are many aspects of what GPs provide that go well beyond the contractual requirements they are under, and this additional workload and the goodwill of the GPs delivering it, have been taken for granted for too long.

"General practice is the bedrock of the NHS, making the vast majority of patient contacts, and when properly resourced, it alleviates pressures across the NHS - but it has been neglected and it is now seriously struggling. This is something that has been acknowledged by the new Government – and the announcement this morning on funding to recruit GPs shows they are listening. We have also already written to the Health Secretary urging him to focus on retaining qualified GPs in the workforce as well as recruiting new ones.

"It is not for the RCGP to get involved with contract negotiations between the BMA and NHS England, nor to influence whether practices participate in collective action or what form that takes. But whatever actions practices take will have an impact, so we want to see an end to this action as a matter of urgency, and we urge the Government to intervene and come to a resolution that is fit for purpose for patients and the GP teams working harder and harder to provide their care.”

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.