GPs may be balloted on industrial action

GPs could be balloted on their willingness to take industrial action after a motion urging the move was backed at a conference of representatives from the profession’s local medical committees. LMC representatives voted in favour of the motion after it was proposed by Tower Hamlets LMC chair Jackie Applebee and backed by BMA GPs committee chair Chaand Nagpaul. The motion proposed that the government blueprint for the future of primary care was not an ‘adequate response’ to the GPC’s statement of need within the BMA’s Urgent Prescription for General Practice. It said the GPC should ask the BMA to canvass GPs on their willingness to: sign undated resignations take industrial action identify forms of industrial action they were prepared to take inform practices what kinds of action could be taken without breaching contracts. The GPC will ask for the poll only if the Government does not accept the BMA’s Urgent Prescription within the next three months, according to the motion.   'Strong action' Proposing the motion, Dr Applebee said that ‘no one wants to ever consider industrial action’ but that the Government’s GP Forward View ‘doesn’t throw the lifeline that practices need right now’. Other LMC representatives opposed the motion from the stage. Kent LMC vice-chair Gaurav Gupta agreed that the Forward View was ‘underwhelming’ but argued for the GPC to be left t...
Source: BMA News - Category: UK Health Source Type: news