Nearly £9 million is to be pumped into general practice in Northern Ireland, it has been announced. The cash includes £1 million to pay additional indemnity costs and is tied to this year’s general practice contract. The money means that practices in the region are getting nearly £22 million extra in total in the current…

Practice staff are keeping services going in Northern Ireland purely on “good will,” their leader has said. As the region’s local medical committees met for a conference, Northern Ireland was entering its seven month without a government or a health minister. Senior GPs say they had reached an agreement on a review of primary care…

Hard-pressed GPs in Northern Ireland have announced a sweeping series of measures aimed at reducing the pressure on their practices. The doctors say the measures will reduce red-tape and unnecessary work and give them more time with patients. Under the restrictions they will refuse to do paperwork for insurance companies or personal independence payments. GPs…

Northern Ireland’s hard-pressed practices are to lose a million pounds in funding, it has been claimed. 80% of practices in the region will lose because of adjustments to Quality and Outcomes Framework payments, according to the British Medical Association. Services in the region are currently being overseen by civil servants because of political paralysis. The…

GPs in Northern Ireland are putting a resignation threat on ice while they wait to find some politicians to negotiate with, a conference will hear today. The problems facing practices in the region are to be set out at the annual conference of local medical committees in Edinburgh, Scotland. GPs signed mass resignation letters with…

GPs in Northern Ireland are set to press on with their threat of mass resignation unless the region’s new government meets its demands. GPs are meeting for their annual conference as the final votes in the country’s assembly election are counted. The elections have seen a surge for Sinn Fein – putting it near level…

Hard-pressed practices in Northern Ireland have been offered a respite from red-tape in a move that could head of mass doctor resignations. The region’s caretaker government yesterday agreed to suspend the Quality and Outcomes Framework – following a similar initiative in Wales. GP resignations had become imminent after the calling of an election for the…