Talking General Practice GPonline.com

Emma speaks to Jake Beech, a policy fellow from the think tank the Health Foundation, about why we need to change the way we think about access in general practice.
Jake is involved with a research project that’s a partnership between the Health Foundation and THIS Institute looking at what access in general practice means. The project is developing a ‘candidacy framework’ that provides a series of interventions and ideas for improving access.
Jake explains why access is much more complex and nuanced than just thinking about supply and demand and how practices could use the candidacy framework to help understand their patients and develop solutions to suit their needs.
He also talks about the limitations with the national data on general practice appointments which are often used by policymakers to make decisions and why patient satisfaction with access is so low despite the fact that practices are delivering more appointments than ever before.
This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.
Useful links
Health Foundation report - Rethinking access to general practice: it’s not all about supply
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This week the GPonline team talks about how untapped capacity among GP locums could help deliver hundreds of thousands of extra GP appointments every week, and what this all means in light of the current challenges sessional GPs are facing finding work.
They also discuss NHS England’s evidence to the Doctors and Dentists Review Body, which is due to make recommendations on whether GP funding should be increased further this year - as well as some of the steps practices are being forced to consider to cope with the tiny 1.9% funding increase they have currently been given.
There’s also news about a contract deal for GPs in Northern Ireland that could be agreed by the time this episode comes out, and they discuss NHS England’s decision to U-turn on funding cuts it was planning to make to NHS Practitioner Health - the specialist mental health service for doctors and NHS staff.
Our good news story this week is about a practice that has won a national small business award.
You can listen to the podcast interview with NHS Practitioner Health’s medical director Helen Garr here.
NHS Practitioner Health’s website is here.
Other useful links
Untapped locum capacity could deliver 250,000 extra GP appointments a week
GP workforce, funding and continuity all linked to higher life expectancy
Northern Ireland GPs near landmark deal to cover indemnity costs and abolish QOF
NHS evidence on GP pay 'completely out of date'
Practices weigh up cutting services, staff and partner drawings in coming year


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Emma speaks to Jacob Lant, the chief executive of National Voices, a coalition of more than 200 health and social care charities in England about what patients want from general practice and the NHS more widely..
In this conversation Jacob talks about why patient satisfaction has reached an all time low and what needs to happen to improve things.
He also explains how he would like to see the GP contract changed to give practices and PCNs more freedom to work in partnership with local communities to deliver the care people need, the importance of getting the basics right, in particular communication with patients, and how GPs and patients could make the case together for increased funding for general practice ahead of the general election.
He has some really useful and practical advice on what practices can do to work effectively with their patients to ensure they are meeting their needs. And he explains how compassionate GPs can transform experiences for individual patients.
This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.
Useful links
National Voices website
National Voices manifesto
RCGP manifesto

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This week Nick and Emma explain the results of the BMA’s referendum on the GP contract for England in 2024/25 and what happens next. And they talk about whether GPs will be prepared to take industrial action this year – and the types of action they might back – based on results from our own polling.
They also discuss whether general practice in England is shifting to a GP-lite model, as many GPs struggle to find work at the same time as £1.4bn of funding a year is pumped into the additional roles reimbursement scheme which provides funding for primary care networks to recruit other healthcare professionals. Nick talks through some of the data linked to this and what it all means.
Meanwhile, Emma talks about the latest news on a possible change in the law on assisted dying in Scotland, and they look at the results of the latest British Social Attitudes survey on what the public thinks about the NHS.
Our good news story this week is about the rollout of life-changing technology for patients with type 1 diabetes.
This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and deputy editor Nick Bostock. It was produced by Czarina Deen.
Useful links
Which forms of industrial action would GPs be prepared to take?
Three quarters of GPs prepared to take industrial action, poll suggests
Is general practice in England moving to a 'GP-lite' model?
Bill that could legalise assisted dying in Scotland introduced
Listen to our special episode on assisted dying and what’s being proposed about how the law should change in Scotland here.


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This week Emma talks to GP Dr Lucy Henshall and healthcare consultant and former practice manager Penny Flack about their initiative Welcome Back to Work, which helps support GPs back into the workplace if they’ve had less than two years away.
In this conversation they explain how Welcome Back to Work helps GPs, the importance of tailoring support to individual doctors, and why we need a much more flexible approach to GP retention than is currently available.
They also talk about what GP practices can do to support GPs returning to work and those who may need more flexibility in the way that they work - and the benefits for both employers and doctors of doing this. And how they hope their approach could be scaled up to work across local healthcare systems – or even nationally – to help ensure experienced GPs are not lost to the NHS.
Lucy and Penny primarily work in Suffolk but they also work with GPs in other parts of the country as well.
This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen
Useful links
Welcome Back to Work website

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Emma and Nick discuss the debate that’s raging about the use of physician associates in the NHS after the BMA issued new guidance on the tasks PAs should and shouldn’t be doing and the RCGP updated its red lines on the use of PAs in general practice.
They also talk again about the struggles GPs are facing finding work as the financial pressures in general practice continue to bite, as well as the results of a new BMA survey of GP registrars about their future career intentions.
And they look at what happened at the Welsh LMCs conference recently where GPs called for the BMA to move towards industrial action by GPs in Wales - and also what’s going on in England as we head towards the end of the referendum on the GP contract there.
This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and deputy editor Nick Bostock. It was produced by Czarina Deen.
Useful links
Physician associates must never see undifferentiated patients, BMA safety advice warns
RCGP expands 'red lines' on use of physician associates in general practice
NHS promises clear safety advice for GPs on physician associate role
Qualified GP driving for Uber amid chronic shortage of jobs
Just two in five GP registrars plan to work in UK general practice, devastating poll reveals
Welsh LMCs push for industrial action as ministers warned not to 'devalue general practice'


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