Many practices are not ready for a launch next week of a new patient record access system, GP leaders have warned. The British Medical Association last night told GPs not to take part if they are not ready, setting out guidance on how to opt out. The “accelerated citizens’ access” will allow patients to access…

GPs and their practice staff have been asked to evaluate a pioneering new resource aimed at helping them make decisions about patient genetic issues. Genomic notes for clinicians – GeNotes – has been developed by Health Education England and is now to be extended to primary care. It will enable clinicians to decide when to…

The government and NHS leaders are ignoring evidence on the importance of continuity of care between GPs and their patients – while general practice remains a profession in crisis, MPs warn today. A new report on the future of general practice, published by the Health and Social Care Committee, says ministers and NHS England must…

Hundreds of staff and associate specialist doctors should be licensed to work in general practice, helping to solve the shortage of GPs, the General Medical Council said today. The General Medical Council says the SAS and locally employed workforce is growing six times as fast as the general practice workforce. In its annual report on…

Primary care could face a wave of reform in its funding systems as the government seeks to make budgets stretch further, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer has revealed. Jeremy Hunt was pressed by MPs about his intentions for the NHS when he gave his Parliamentary statement yesterday, reversing many of the policies proposed by…

A new analysis, published today, supports the benefits of improving access to blood tests in primary care for patients who may have cancer. The issue has become a key problem for practices, faced with pressure to identify patients at risk whilst not overloading hospitals with referrals or risking patients facing delays after referral. A study…

Time is running out for the UK to retain hundreds of newly qualified GPs caught in a visa trap, the Royal College of GPs has warned. The college has made a new appeal to Home Secretary Suella Braverman to solve the problem, which requires GPs from overseas to get a sponsor after they complete their…