London drive to improve practice safety Practices in London have received a wide-ranging package of support to help them tackle threats to safety. The resources, from the Londonwide Local Medical Committees, deal with threats to the safety of staff and risks to patient safety from overworked staff. They include posters and template letters to enable…

Practices may be struggling to pay for locums GP leaders have called for additional roles funding to include locum doctors as it has emerged that some are struggling to get work. Official NHS figures show a 35% reduction in the number of ad hoc locums working in general practice in the last year. Dr Mark…

Imposed contract is a risk to stability Practice managers believe the new contract for GPs poses a risk to the “stability” of general practice, and the IGPM says it’s been inundated with comments from its members. The IGPM says the key problem is the limited uplift in funding at 2%, while the National Living Wage…

Managers campaign to save general practice Practice managers have launched a campaign to “save general practice”, highlighting the pressures and strains they face. The campaign from the IGPM calls on patients to write to their MPs asking them to support the campaign. It follows the imposition of the new GP contract with a funding increase…

The growing numbers of consultations in general practice are “unsustainable” in Wales, a senior doctor has warned. It is leading to burnout and GPs taking early retirement and changing career, the Welsh conference of local medical committees has been told. Speaking to the conference, Dr Phil White, chair of the British Medical Associations’ Welsh GP…

Wales is to end the 8am appointment “bottleneck” as part of a £12 million GP contract deal, it has been announced. The Welsh government said that only releasing appointments at 8am is “no longer acceptable”. It said the extra funding would enable practices to develop efficient booking systems. The British Medical Association said the deal…

Welsh lawmakers need to address the wellbeing of practices teams and ensure investment in technology, according to proposals released ahead of the country’s national elections. The Royal College of GPs Cymru Wales has called for three major priorities to help support general practice as Wales gradually emerges from the pandemic. It is asking Senedd electoral…