MESSAGE FROM YOUR GPs 2024

Dear Patients

474 GP Practices have closed in the last 10 years¹.

GPs are taking industrial action around the way that finances have either been restricted, redirected, or not given to general practice over the last 10 years or so.

This is not strike action.

This will not close the door of your surgery.

It is action around the way we interact with the hospitals and with the NHS generally.

We feel this is the right action to draw public attention to the fact that not only patients, but doctors also, are distressed about the state of the nation’s health and healthcare.

In the national press you will see that most of our colleagues around the country feel the same. More than 90% of GPs voted in favour, and the turnout was around seven out of 10.

The general practice Council, our national figurehead have guided us in this decision process. They are in the main, practicing doctors, with lots of experience of working in GP practices or other kinds of primary care, and in line with that the options that they have given us in terms of action are not strike action, because they understand that we care for our patients and would find it very difficult to step away from them. Therefore, the options are mainly about working to rule, and we will preserve our patient facing services. You might wonder then what the action would look like, but it will be to do with how we communicate with NHS England, share our digital data, and change the way we take part in referring patients to the hospital.

There is an option to limit the number of patient contacts a day to 25 contacts. On an average day, including correspondence, checking results, sick notes, telephone calls, face-to-face consultations, emergencies, home visits, care home visits and work with the Coroners office, our typical consultations are closer to 40 per day.  This itself is not sustainable, but we do not feel at this time that we can bring it back to the legal framework of 25 consultations which is recommended nationally. This is the sort of thing we are literally pleading with the government to come to the table about.

It is not possible to readily recruit GPs that will stay in the service when you tell them they have to consult or review up to 40 people a day.

We hope that you can support us during this action. The government have already met with our GP Council to talk about option, and improvements. This is a start.

We need things to change.

You need things to change.

You want continuity of care. You want the same GP when you need them. You want faster access to clinical care. We need the resources to deliver that and we need good conditions for our staff. We need to update our buildings and equipment.

The changes we have asked for will improve what we can do for you.

Please support us.

We will keep you updated.

The Partners

Acle Medical Partnership

1 Almost 60 GP practices closed last year across the UK – Pulse Today