Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) GP co-lead Dr Steve Taylor has highlighted the scale of the funding issues facing general practice.
It comes after the BMA made a £50 per patient increase in core practice funding a key negotiating aim.
Dr Taylor told Doctors.net.uk that over the past decade general practice had ‘effectively lost the equivalent of £40 per head if you take inflation into account’.
He said the BMA’s proposed increase would ‘regain what has been lost’ and help practices provide more appointments and improve access to care for patients.
Bring back the family doctor
“If the government is genuinely interested in bringing back the family doctor this is going to go a long way,” Dr Taylor said.
General practice receives just 5.6 per cent of the total NHS budget, despite delivering around 31 million appointments a month.
DAUK’s campaign Your GP, here for you calls for an increase to core GP funding to restore it to the real-terms level of 10 years ago.
GP funding
Dr Taylor said it was vital funding was increased for GP practices if Government proposals to move more care out of hospitals and into the community were to be met.
Tickets are still available for DAUK’s joint conference with Doctors For The NHS (DFNHS) on Saturday 10 October at Bedern Hall in York.
In-person attendance is £50 per delegate limited to 50 places. Book your place now.
The conference will also be streamed live to enable colleagues to participate remotely. Online attendance is £25 and places are available to book now.