Pressure on GPs has reached intolerable levels, aggravated by “relentless misrepresentation,” a doctors’ organisation has warned. The Doctors’ Association became the latest medical group to comment after the death of GP Dr Gail Milligan in Surrey. Dr Milligan’s husband has spoken of the relentless pressure of work she faced and the long days she worked.…

Practices are facing growing pressure from patients who cannot get hospital outpatient appointments, experts have warned. More than two million patients have been unable to get outpatient appointments this year following GP referrals – in another hidden waiting list, it has been revealed. The number of so-called ‘appointment slot issues’ has increased by half in…

Managing staff who are on long-term sick leave is a challenging situation for practice managers. Following a number of recent posts in the forum on the subject, Robyn Clark (aka JacksonR) held a lunchtime HR Clinic, alongside Susi O’Brien, a HR consultant who specialises in employment law. As expected, we received lots of questions from…

The NHS in England has lost more than 800 fully qualified GPs in the last year and is “haemorrhaging doctors,” according to new data. Including trainees, the NHS had 45 fewer GPs in June compared with a year earlier, according to the NHS Digital data, suggesting that improved trainee recruitment has failed to counteract the…

Fining of patients who fail to attend appointments moved closed last night after Prime Ministerial candidate Rishi Sunak proposed a £10 charge. The British Medical Association said the proposal “would likely make matters worse.” Mr Sunak, who is thought to be trailing his rival Liz Truss, said: “If they’re not being used, then that’s a…

Recent political turmoil has led to the appointment of a new health and social care secretary in the form of Steve Barclay and a new Prime Minister is due to be selected by early September. When new people come into such influential posts, there is a brief chance to seek their attention and enlist their…

A practice in Somerset has become the first in the country to adopt a new employee ownership system circumventing difficulties in recruiting GP partners. All employees of the Minehead Medical Centre now hold single shares in the business in an ownership model described as “John Lewis style”. The partners in the practice decided to convert…