Welsh GPs will vote on whether to ask for a change in regulations to ensure that GP partners who hold a GMS contract are ‘required’ to regularly provide clinical sessions in their practices.
Representatives from Wales’s LMCs will meet in Chester next month for their annual conference to discuss issues affecting general practice, including the future of GMS, funding and workload.
They will vote on a motion calling for all GP partners to undertake a ‘minimum’ number of clinical sessions in their practice annually, including face-to-face appointments, due to concerns around the number of GP practices in Wales with GMS contracts held by GPs ‘who perform no clinical sessions’ in those practices.
The motion also calls for health boards to ‘refrain’ from awarding multiple GMS contracts to individuals who are ‘unable’ to provide clinical care across all of their practices, and asks for a change in regulations to ensure that GP partners are required to regularly provide clinical sessions in their practices.
At the conference on 8 March, LMC leaders will also discuss recent Budget changes, including the rise in National Insurance contributions, and call on the Government to ‘find a solution’ to ‘fully’ mitigate this.
The conference agenda also includes a motion noting the ‘unprecedented’ pressure on primary care due to unresourced work fuelled by the ‘significant’ rise in demand for weight loss medications, and calling for a ‘properly funded’ national obesity service.
Welsh cabinet secretary for health and social care Jeremy Miles will also deliver a speech at the conference.
Other motions which will be discussed are:
- demanding a commitment to ‘substantial’ allocations of ring-fenced new monies to improve GP estates to ‘world-class facilities’
- asking that GPC Wales negotiates a new dispensing contract for GPs that ‘properly supports’ dispensing practices to deliver this service
- requesting NHS Wales to allow flexibility to pharmacies to substitute medication that is in short supply rather than constantly referring back to the prescriber
- calling for ‘appropriate’ investment in digital infrastructure to address inefficiencies, reduce administrative burden, and improve patient care
- calling for the implementation of a single electronic pathology and radiology requesting service accessible to both primary and secondary care clinicians
Chair of conference Dr Tim Davies said: ‘We fully appreciate the extraordinary pressures facing Welsh general practice, the conference needs to rise to these challenges by focusing on how it wishes to instruct GPCW to meet them with potential solutions, rather than focussing on the pressures themselves.’
Pulse has recently reported on concerns raised about a GP-led company running practices in Wales, which was forced to hand back several GMS contracts following controversies earlier this month.
Earlier this week, the Welsh Government said it will not increase the share of NHS funding spent on general practice until hospital waiting lists are ‘brought down’.
The motion in full
That this Conference:
- is concerned by the number of GP practices in Wales with GMS contracts held by GPs who perform no clinical sessions in those practices
- calls for all GP partners to undertake a minimum number of clinical sessions in their practice annually, including face-to-face appointments, while appropriately accounting for circumstances such as parental or sick leave
- calls for Health Boards to refrain from awarding multiple GMS contracts to the same individuals who are unable to provide clinical care across all of their practices
- asks for a change in regulations to ensure that GP partners awarded GMS contracts are required to regularly provide clinical sessions in their practices
Source: BMA
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Wales LMCs seem to have the right plans for GPs ; but why does it take months or years to get these things sorted.
Why are some GPs working no clinical sessions? Are they not even working any fake sessions? Sounds like weird work if you can get it. Do these phantom workers get away without doing appraisals and various other GP practice responsibilities? perhaps they are absolutely worn out by trying to figure out where exactly to make their next non-appearances at practices.
It is right. There should also be a vote on the GMC and ICB. We cannot be run by people who are not clinicians and are not committed and make undoable rules that does not affect them.
What if you’ve retired? Presumably you will still be a partner, and own the premises but not doing any sessions.
If more Gp’s did the job they were actually trained to do rather than swanning around on various boards and meetings then capacity might be better served. The NHS is stuffed full of individuals (Doctors and Nurses in primary and secondary care who loved the core job so much they decided to effectively give it up, do a day release course on “leadership” and then spend their days telling others what to to do, how to do it , and how wonderful it is all going to be.
Why do any clinical sessions when you can get PAs?!