A black alert system should be introduced for GP surgeries – allowing them to close their doors when care is becoming unsafe, doctors say today. The idea is being brought to the annual conference of the British Medical Association in Bournemouth. The proposal says that the “black alert” system for GPs would be similar to…

The sudden closure of a practice in Kent has prompted a promise from health secretary Jeremy Hunt to “get to the bottom of it.” The closure of the practice in Folkestone will leave 5,000 people without a GP. Local health officials have said they will find practices for all patients – but are currently unsure…

A government minister has been accused of planning to close thousands of practices. According to health minister David Mowat, England will eventually have just 1,500 super-hubs for general practice. Speaking to MPs about primary care in Essex, earlier this week Mr Mowat said the best arrangement for primary care was when practices were in hubs…

One of the main talking points in practices up and down the country this week has been the prime minister’s statement that all practices will open from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, or risk losing funding. In a nutshell, the government wants surgeries to keep these extended hours, unless they can prove the…

Rationing health care is not and will never be a politically popular concept. And as some Clinical Commissioning Groups have been reported in the media as considering excluding certain treatments from their contracts with hospital providers it may prove unpopular with the public too. For example, headlines include “CCG’s considering limiting IVF courses to three”…

All eyes were on NHS England recently and the announcement of the final GP contract in England for 2016/17. Amid plenty of fanfare, and no doubt keen to divert attention away from the Junior Doctor mess, the governing body was eager to shout about the new contract’s £220 million investment, part of which will pay for…

The NHS scheme was brought into the UK almost 70 years ago – a lifeline for people at the time suffering post-war austerity. Family doctors were known for their independence in the profession; and at that time the NHS was hotly debated in the political world, just like the Government plan to make doctors work seven…