National Insurance hike will be the ‘straw that breaks the camel’s back’ for practices, says College

College Chair Professor Kamila Hawthorne is calling for urgent assurances from the Government about our ‘serious concerns’ over the potential impact of additional NI increases on GP practices. 

She said: “We are writing to the Health Secretary today asking for urgent assurances that GP practices will be given the same protection as the rest of the NHS and public sector and receive the necessary funding to cover these additional costs.

“We have very serious concerns about the impact of the increase in National Insurance employer contributions on GP practices right across the country, many of whom are already struggling to keep their doors open and make ends meet due to historic chronic underfunding. 

“They are working their hardest to provide quality care for their patients against a backdrop of significant budget constraints and staffing challenges - and this added level of insecurity will only compound these pressures. For some, this extra financial burden will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, forcing them to make tough decisions on redundancies or even closing their practice, and ultimately it is our patients who will bear the brunt. 

“As the Health Secretary himself has pointed out, general practice is the front door of the NHS – providing tens of millions of patient appointments per month. The Government also has ambitious plans to move much more care into the community from hospitals. We are very keen to work with them to make this happen, but we need significant investment - not more worry and financial insecurity.”

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.