07.08.14
GPs call for ‘urgent’ support to safeguard practices
Health officials should act ‘urgently’ to help GP practices that have come under threat of closure due to NHS funding changes, leading doctors have stated.
The British Medical Association (BMA) warned that a number of GP practices across England are facing drastic funding shortfalls following the government’s decision to phase out the Minimum Practice Income Guarantee (MPIG) from April 2014.
The Association argues that the vital financial lifeline provides additional support to practices in challenging circumstances, such as those serving large rural areas or practices serving deprived and needy communities.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the BMA’s GP committee, said: “The BMA has been warning the government for well over a year that its decision to phase out MPIG would leave a number of practices in challenging circumstances at risk from closure.
“All GP practices are under real, sustained pressure from a combination of rising patient demand, declining funding and the government’s desire to move more care into the community. Given this climate, many of the practices funded by MPIG can ill-afford to lose this vital funding stream.”
This call comes at the same time Tower Hamlets’ GPs handed in a 16,000 strong petition from patients to Downing Street calling for their local practices to be saved.
An NHS England (London) spokesperson told NHE that they appreciate the concerns of patients, who are passionate about their local GP surgeries. However, they added that “the decision to phase out MPIG is national policy which is being implemented all across the country, in order to make GP funding more equitable.
“The majority of practices in London will gain as a result, however we recognise the unique financial challenges that some GP practices are facing as a result of these changes.”
Dr Maureen Baker, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said it is a scandal that the care of thousands of patients is “in peril”.
“How can we have reached a situation where things have got so bad that GP practices – the lifeblood of local communities – are under threat of closure, some of them within months, and where patients are at real risk of having no family doctor to turn to when they are ill?”
She added: “This is why the College and the National Association for Patient Participation (N.A.P.P.) have launched Put patients first: Back general practice, calling for general practice to receive 11% of the NHS budget by 2017. We are asking members of the public to sign our petition – either online or at their GP surgery – to back these calls.”
A Department of Health spokesperson told NHE that patients should have access to high quality GP services, no matter where they live.
But they added: “The system needs to be fair so GP practices are paid fairly according to the number of patients and the services they deliver.
“The MPIG was introduced in 2004 to support practices moving to a new GP contract. NHS England will be supporting the most affected practices to adjust as these payments are gradually phased out over seven years, and the money will be reinvested in general practice.”
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