Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) has co-signed a letter to Andy Burnham urging him to scrap the UK-US pharma deal.
DAUK is part of SOS NHS Coalition of health organisations and unions which has written to the prospective prime minister urging him to secure the long-term future of the NHS.
The letter, which has been featured in the Guardian, also asks Burnham to meet members of the coalition to listen to their experiences of the NHS and social care.
Meanwhile, DAUK GP co-lead Dr Steve Taylor has contributed to an article exploring ‘a surge in portfolio working’ among GPs.
Underemployed and unemployed GPs
GP Online has reported that two-thirds of UK doctors have portfolio careers, which combine clinical work with work in other areas such as teaching and research.
Dr Taylor said: “There’s the element of underemployed and unemployed GPs – many have been forced to look for alternatives.
“It’s also the case that the intensity of working five days a week in NHS general practice is too high.”
Dr Taylor also provided comment to GP Online on its report that half of GP workforce growth in the last financial year came from jobs created through the additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS).
Workforce rebalancing
He said: “There needs to be a rebalancing of the workforce, because we’ve been under-employing GPs for some time.”
Elsewhere, Dr Taylor welcomed new NHS England guidance for planned patient care which sets out what patients and carers should expect when patients are referred for non-urgent NHS care as ‘a step in the right direction’ but said it ‘doesn’t go far enough’.
Speaking to Pulse, he said: “Patients are currently left in the dark about the referral process and where they are on the journey to seeing a specialist or waiting for an investigation. This should save some time for GP practices.”
Picture credit: Andy Burnham/Facebook
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