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PRACTICE POINTS

‘WE NEED A LONG-TERM

CURE FOR GENERAL

PRACTICE’, SAYS BMA CHIEF

Dr Richard Vautrey is demanding more than just sticking plasters from the government to help
support general practice

The leader of England’s GPs last announcement yesterday by the
week demanded an end to “sticking prime minister that £3.5bn of the
plaster solutions”, and called for an £20bn will be spent on primary
“effective, long-term cure” for the medical and community services,
pressures facing the profession. He with a commitment to ensure a
also urged the government to use its growing share of overall NHS
long-term NHS plan to properly invest spending goes to general practice
in general practice. and community healthcare, is
important for us to consider.
Speaking at the BMA’s conference of
English Local Medical Committees “It may make good headlines for
in London, Dr Richard Vautrey, the public, but the devil will be
BMA GP committee chair, stressed in the detail and as the Nuffield
the importance of investing in Trust observed yesterday ‘far from
general practice to ensure the future representing a big shift in funding
sustainability of the wider NHS and towards out-of-hospital services,
the population’s health. this money will simply allow GPs
“The reality is an NHS that is in a and community services to keep
Vautrey’s speech came just a day year-round crisis; the pressure is on up with demand over the next five
after the prime minister announced 12 months of the year, day after day. years and it is not going to lead to
that £3.5bn of the £20bn long- a significant change in the way that
term plan funding would be spent “We know and experience this daily people experience healthcare’.
on primary and community care, pressure in our surgeries. We know
something which Vautrey warns and experience the pressures on “We already have meetings
“may make good headlines for the our patients as they need more scheduled in the next few days to
public”, but that it must translate care from us but we struggle with drill down to the detail as we cannot
into “real, additional and recurrent the capacity to be able to respond. tolerate another five years like the
investment”. And we know and experience the last 12 and we must ensure that the
impact on our staff and colleagues, crisis we face is properly addressed
He also commended the dedication too many of whom are becoming with real, additional and recurrent
and achievements of GPs and their ill themselves as they struggle with investment.
practice teams despite year-round unsafe workload.
pressures, and note a number of “And, to be clear, we cannot
areas where progress is being “We know the illness, but our accept essential funding used for
made. Addressing representatives of experience has shown that short another hundred micro schemes
England’s 100 LMCs, he said: term fixes will not solve this problem. that wrap us up in bureaucracy,
More sticking plaster solutions will leave practices wondering where
“The days are shortening, the just make the patient sicker. Instead the money has gone and patients
temperature is dropping, the lights we need an effective, long-term no better off. We must see new
are on and Christmas shoppers are cure. We need nothing less than a funding used effectively, with
packing the West End of London. properly funded NHS built on the practices in control so that we can
All very predictable. And just as solid bedrock of a thriving general start to address workload pressures
predictably NHS winter pressures are practice.” and deliver a safer service to our
here again. But as we all know ‘winter patients.”
pressure’ is a mythical diagnosis, for Vautrey added, regarding the prime
we experience the reality. minister’s announcement: “The

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