GPs struggle with no extra funding

Published on Friday 6 April 2007 01:15

FAMILY doctors should consider not taking on any new patients as they struggle to balance their books and comply with their legal obligations, medical leaders said yesterday.

GPs were left furious last month when it emerged that they would not be getting any pay rise this year.

The British Medical Association yesterday issued guidance on how practices can draw up a recovery plan to cope financially without breaking their primary care contracts.

The advice says practices should consider whether they will take on any new patients.

The BMA said they should also refuse to accept any new, non-obligatory, under-funded work and review their involvement in providing enhanced services for patients.

But the guidance - Safeguarding patient services: Maintaining cost-effectiveness - said GPs should always make sure they comply with their legal and contractual obligations so quality of care does not suffer.

Andy Kerr, the Scottish health minister, defended the NHS pay award decisions in March. He said they "strike a balance between fairness and discipline in the fight against inflation".

But Hamish Meldrum, the chairman of the BMA's GPs committee, said that doctors had been treated badly by the government.

"For the second year running, GP practices will have no cost of living increase in resources while facing all the rising costs of running an NHS practice, paying the staff, the utility bills and all the other expenses of providing good clinical services to patients.

"The decision to give GPs no extra funding at all - in effect a cut - will put practices all over the UK under considerable financial pressure," he said.