Spending on general practice increased by a minuscule amount last year, according to official figures. GP leaders said they showed how spending on primary care had failed to keep pace with patient demand.The NHS Digital figures showed the average payment per registered patient in the year from 2017/18 was £153.77. This compared with £152.81 the

Life in general practice can be demanding. Workloads, difficult patients, bureaucracy, long hours…the list of stresses goes on, meaning it’s better if a practice’s staff all get along. While it’s good to be friendly and get along, is there such a thing as being too friendly? For one practice, the answer is most definitely yes!

GP practices present “considerable scope for manipulation and sharp practice,” according to a leaked NHS England document. The report, obtained by the Daily Mail, accuses a small number of practices of fraudulent practices worth millions of pounds annually. GP leaders said the report contained “insinuations.” It says that, because they are independent contractors, practices are

Practices could face large bills after a court ruled that many self-employed locum GPs may be entitled to holiday pay. Experts said practices could face bills totalling hundreds of millions of pounds after the ruling, upheld by an appeal court in London. The court ruled in favour of Dr Reshma Narayan, who had provided her

Practices should get more data on patient dependency on prescription medicines as part of a drive to reduce over-use, experts say. One in four adults are now taking prescription medicines for pain, anxiety or insomnia, leading public health experts warned. According to the analysis about one in eight adults had received continuous prescriptions for at

Many practices are using untrained reception staff as so-called “care navigators” to direct patients to community activities, according to a new study. Schemes are running in most parts of the country but the way it is done is very “variable,” according to a report in the British Journal of General Practice. The NHS has announced

There’s always one. They’re contracted to start work at 12:30pm sharp, but at 12:30 on the dot you see them strolling across the car park before they come in, dump their bag on their chair, say hi to everyone, make themselves a cuppa, go to the loo, and finally start work at 12:45. This is