DAUK’s GP committee has responded to an announcement by Health Secretary Wes Streeting of £889m in extra GP funding along with proposed reforms to general practice.
Dr Lizzie Toberty, GP lead for the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK), said: “We welcome any increase in funding for general practice, however, we are concerned that while this sounds like a lot of money, in reality it is not.
“The Government has created a huge problem for general practice by not exempting GP practices from the increase in National Insurance contributions.
“It means a huge proportion of this money will be swallowed up meeting the new National Insurance obligations.
“In effect, a significant proportion of this money is being recycled through the Treasury, which is not a win.
GP employment
“And we remain very concerned about the implications of the ongoing employment of GPs through the additional role reimbursement scheme (ARRS).
“We need more detail and are concerned this is nothing more than smoke and mirrors.”
Dr Steve Taylor, DAUK GP spokesperson: “We cautiously welcome the extra funding, but it fails to address the fact that general practice has had a 20 per cent real terms cut in funding per patient over the past eight years.
“GPs are now doing 20 per cent more work than before the pandemic – so we’re doing much more for much less and it needs addressing.
“The additional role reimbursement scheme (ARRS) GP recruitment programme is failing to meet the needs of underemployed GPs, particularly those looking for the security of permanent jobs in practices.
“Depending on reports, there have been between 60 to 300 GPs employed by the scheme to date at huge expense.
GP funding
“The money would be better spent if it was put into core GP funding.”
Dr Alison George, DAUK GP committee member, said: “The concern is that the Department for Health is trying to employ more GPs through ARRS, effectively making them employed by the government on low pay and poor working conditions.
“There are around 3,500 full-time equivalent GPs available to work now. Why would the government refuse to fund jobs for them but continue to fund approximately 2,000 physician associates (PAs) in general practice?
“Funding GPs, who can give patients holistic care, is the best use of the ARRS funds for PAs and will keep more patients out of hospital.
“The money needs to be put back into core budgets and let practices employ the GPs they need.”
Dr Ellen Welch, DAUK vice chair and a GP, said: “We have repeatedly called for ARRS funding to be reallocated to restore core GP funding – and do so again.
Darzi review
“Lord Darzi’s review pointed out GPs are the most financially disciplined part of the NHS, and we have the unbelievable situation where thousands of GPs are unemployed or underemployed.
“The billions of pounds being spent on inefficient ARRS that fragment care should be reallocated into core general practice.
“We need to be able to use our budgets to meet the needs of our patients and communities, and to increase GP numbers for safer ratios of patients to doctors.”
Dr Sarah Jacques, DAUK GP committee member, said: “It’s a very uncertain time for practices with many being forced to close or on the brink of closure.
National Insurance contributions
“This money will all be eroded unless the government fully reimburses GPs for the increased National Insurance contributions and we see an uplift in the DDRB (the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration) recommendation for GPs’ rates of pay.
“Without those we’re set for another year of defunding.”
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