GPs are to vote on returning practices to normal working hours as part of a series of measures aimed at tackling overwhelming workloads.

The proposal is to be considered in a special debate at the conference of local medical committees next month. GPs will discuss it exclusively with the proposal being tabled by the Avon local medical committee.It states that the core GP contract would reduce to the hours of 9am to 5pm, rather than 8am to 630pm as part of “urgent action” to manage workload.

Other items for discussion call on the British Medical Association’s GP committee to renegotiate contracts with workload limits, using data on safe workloads. A proposal from Cleveland says this would “protect” all practice staff and patients. Other motions call for more education of patients to encourage self-care and “appropriate” use of other services.

Local medical committees also propose a range of other ideas to help control workloads. These include allowing allied health professionals to make referrals to secondary care. There are also calls from Northern Ireland for practices to be allowed to make “immediate” removal of any patient from lists for abuse – and for sentences for abuse of staff to be increased.