DAUK’s GP lead says it’s ‘high time’ the Government decided whether general practice was part of the NHS or not, as surgeries prepare for a hike in national insurance.
Dr Lizzie Toberty said that for too long, GPs were seen as part of the NHS when it suited governments and then seen as independent contractors when that suited them.
She pointed to the increase in national insurance contributions for general practices, which come into effect this month (April), as an example.
An amendment to exempt health and care providers, including GP services, from the higher rates in line with the rest of the NHS, had been voted through by the House of Lords.
However, it was overturned in the House of Commons.
GP contract
Dr Toberty said: “That was hugely disappointing because we all want to have more of this new money for the good of our patients.”
And while she welcomed the agreed changes to the 2025/26 GP contract as ‘stabilising’, Dr Toberty said much of the uplift would go back to the Treasury in national insurance.
“With the contract that has been announced, there is a small uplift for most practices,” said Dr Toberty, a GP based in Newcastle.
“While it’s not enough, it does stabilise things and gives us an opportunity to work on a new contract.
“The Government got its headlines, saying it was injecting all this cash into primary care.
“However, it knew it was going to put up national insurance and, in reality, it was taking quite a lot of that back to the Treasury.
National insurance
“It illustrates that we are part of the NHS when it suits governments, and then when it suits we’re not part of the NHS.
“Either we are part of the NHS and should be exempt from national insurance contributions, or we are not part of it and we shouldn’t have restrictions on our contracts that say that we can’t charge patients for private services.
“It shouldn’t be both ways.
“If I own a coffee shop and my national insurance contribution rises, I can put up the price of a coffee.
“GPs can’t do that.
Part of the NHS
“The government needs to fall on one side of the fence or the other. It’s high time they decided.
“If we’re not part of the NHS, then we need to start being treated like private businesses and given the ability to increase our income.
“Or we are part of the NHS and we need to have the benefits that come along with that, such as exemption from the national insurance increase.
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