GP Partners/Principals/Contractors – the ballot to save general practice has opened. Your email will be from bma@cesvotes.com. The Ballot will run from 17th June until 29th July 2024.

The Ballot Question: 

‘Are you prepared to undertake one or more examples of collective action as outlined in the BMA campaign to Protect Your Patients, Protect Your Practice?’

The Ballot Answer

Vote YES to Take Action to Save General Practice. 

Vote YES to protect your practice and to protect your patients. 

We are not asking you to breach your contact, but we are asking you to take a stand.

For more information watch this video from  Katie Bramhall -Stainer Chair of GPC below

Once voted, please encourage your partner colleagues to do so too. 

Not a BMA member?  Join now and get 3 months *FREE* membership.

Non-members still have time to join in the ballot. Any new member joining from 17 June, will get their first 3 months of membership for free. The latest date to join for the vote to be counted is 22 July. Please encourage your colleagues to join: bma.org.uk/join

What does  the menu of actions look like?

GPC will be inviting GP Partners to work with their practice management team and, working in liaison with the LMC, determine the actions they will be willing to take. Each of these actions is outlined in the BMA GP Practice Survival Toolkit 

It is for each practice to pick and choose as they see fit. You may decide to add to your choices over the days, weeks, and months ahead. This is a marathon, not a sprint. 

PCN DES 2024/25 GPC England Guidance on the Capacity and Access Improvement Payment (CAIP)

There are three separate and discrete elements to the CAIP within the 24/25 PCN DES: 

• Faster care navigation, assessment, and response 
• Better digital telephony 
• Simpler online requests 

GPC England guidance is that practices should defer signing declarations of completion for “better digital telephony” and “simpler online requests” until further GPC England guidance in early 2025. 

 Read the  Focus on guidance  

GPC England recommends PCNs do not confirm compliance with the on-line platform CAIP element at this time, because unless the workload associated with a practice’s on-line platform can be controlled, it will not be possible for practices to effectively implement the BMA Safe Working Guidance. 

GPC England recommends PCNs do not confirm compliance with better digital telephony CAIP element at this time as NHS England has signalled its intention to issue a contract variation notice from October 2024 to make the sharing of the eight call data metrics they have identified contractual.

GP Contract guidance and campaign materials

GPC has  now published our 2024/25 contract guidance documents, to GPs  you consider how best to approach the contract changes. These documents cover the following areas:

• Dispensing and prescribing 
• GP data sharing and controllership 
• Limited Liability Partnerships and the GMS contract
• Medical Associate Professions in General Practice
• 2024 Premises Cost Directions
• Use of enhanced access appointments
• Vaccinations and Immunisations
• Proformas and referral forms
• Spending and the PCN DES capacity and access payment funding