RCGP NI Press Release

 

Responding to the Health Minister’s comments on 19 May, with regard to his decision to impose a disputed financial package on Northern Ireland GPs, Dr Ursula Mason, Chair of the Royal College of GPs in Northern Ireland said:

 

“We are dismayed to hear that the Minister for Health has taken this unprecedented step in Northern Ireland and strongly refute his decision-making rationale.  To suggest that GP services should not receive increased funding because of problems with access to services is counter-intuitive and belies a lack of understanding of the root causes of difficulty with access, the most prevalent being chronic underfunding.  We have a finite number of appointments we can offer on any given day.  Our warnings about the intense pressures GPs and our teams are working under and the impact this is having on patients need to be acted upon.  It also is grossly unfair to our health professional teams who are working beyond their capacity to provide care to their patients.  The Minister’s comments have further demoralised an already exhausted workforce, and the impact which is has had on the profession should not be underestimated.

‘GPs want to provide increased access to patients, but without increased funding, this is simply not possible.  General practice receives only 5.4% of the health budget, and our practices are struggling to maintain the levels of service they currently provide, such are the workforce funding pressures they face.

‘While the details of contractual negotiations are wholly within the remit of the BMA’s General Practice Committee, the unprecedented nature of the contract imposition and the Minister’s comments on GP access have required the college to speak out.  GPs and their teams want to be able to ensure all their patients receive safe, appropriate and timely care.  But demand is escalating: while the number of registered patients is growing, whole-time equivalent GP numbers have fallen, yet we are providing 200,000 consultations every week.  GPs have been providing more and more with less and less but cannot continue to do so.

Many of our GP colleagues are burnt out with increasing numbers leaving the profession, citing workload and workforce pressures.

The number of contract handbacks in recent years serve to illustrate the financial and recruitment challenges facing hard working GPs who only want to deliver the best possible care for their patients.  We are concerned that imposing this contract could worsen this situation, particularly  if significant additional resources do not follow.

 

“We urge the Minister for Health and his officials to engage with GP representatives to come to a resolution that ensures we can continue to provide the care that our patients need”.

 

Ends.