The new leadership of NHS England is planning to end a stand off with GPs by postponing controversial new demands on practices, it has been revealed. Earlier this year the British Medical Association GP committee voted to end talks with NHS England as tensions grew over the pressures on practices. Many practices have been alarmed…

I realised earlier this week that my last blog was back in April… Where has the time gone? Well, I can tell you quite easily – in a blur of demand, #*¥!* paperwork, more general #*¥!*, forging ahead with IGPM stuff, a bit more #*¥!* … and, hey presto, the months have flown. In the…

Shortages and inequalities in general practice staffing are disproportionately affecting deprived areas in England, new research is showing. While demand for primary care services has been increasing, staff numbers have not kept up with demand, explain Dr John Ford of the University of Cambridge, UK, and colleagues. They add that the gap between the growing…

Health workers should be allowed to use their clinical judgement to decide whether to self-isolate following exposure to COVID-19, the British Medical Association has said. New rules, aimed at ending the “pingdemic”, came into force yesterday allowing double-vaccinated people to carry on with their lives rather than self-isolate when identified as a contact of an…

Mention an imminent inspection visit from the regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to any general practice team and you can just imagine the nervous twitches, raised heartbeats and agitated moods that are likely to ensue. No matter how good any primary care team may be, and regardless of their previous rating, be it good…

The government is running out of time to prepare practices for a vaccine booster campaign, a senior GP has warned. Ministers have proposed a double vaccination campaign – with patients receiving a booster for COVID-19 in one arm and a flu vaccine in the other.Practices are still waiting for details, Dr Steve Mowle, treasurer of…

About half of GPs have experienced recent abuse with a fifth facing serious threats, according to the disturbing findings of a survey published today. Overall, as many as a third of doctors have faced abuse from patients or people accompanying patients, according to the British Medical Association survey of more than 2,400 doctors. The survey…