'We will fight for what the forward view has not tackled'

GP leaders are pushing ministers to roll out their blueprint for general practice, alongside the BMA’s more far-reaching 'urgent prescription'. This was the call from BMA GPs committee chair Chaand Nagpaul on the first day of the local medical committees 2016 conference in London on 18 May. Dr Nagpaul (pictured) told LMC members the General Practice Forward View, released by NHS England last month, offered a 'glimmer of hope' to primary care but was 'not yet a solution' to the ongoing crisis. 'GPs are facing an environment in which it feels we’re being set up to fail,' he added, 'where a workforce that is thousands of GPs short is expected to treat an expanding older population with multiple complex needs.' He said that he welcomed the release of the forward view and the 'symbolic change' in the rhetoric of central Government. 'After a decade of declining funding, general practice will finally see an upturn of investment significantly higher than other sectors, and with increased share in the overall NHS budget,' he added. 'This is positive, but is tempered by the fact that general practice endured gross disinvestment at a time of plenty, while the Government is belatedly trying to make up the deficit at a time when the NHS is virtually running on empty.' GPs would, however, be 'failing in their duty' if they accepted the forward view document 'as the final word in rescuing general practice', Dr Nagpaul continued. 'We will fight for what the forward view has not ...
Source: BMA News - Category: UK Health Source Type: news