Jeremy Hunt’s dramatic resolution of the doctor pension trap crisis failed to satisfy practice leaders yesterday – as they called on him to tackle other problems in the service.

Hunt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, gave no indication of funding to settle pay disputes or to allow improved recruitment into the NHS as part of the long-promised workforce plan.

As a former health secretary and chair of the House of Commons health committee, he told MPs he had “listened” to senior doctors about the pension problem. He also confirmed an extension of financial support for childcare, a move designed to help young parents stay in work.

The Royal College of GPs said there are many more steps needed to improve GP recruitment and secure the future for general practice.

Writing to Hunt in advance, the Royal College of GPs called for funding for the promised workforce plan. Its chair Professor Kamila Hawthorne requested a meeting to discuss the details of how the Treasury might support general practice recovery.

She said: “In the Autumn Statement you said that the Government will publish a Primary Care Recovery Plan. It is vital that the scale of this plan and the NHS workforce plan matches the challenges faced in general practice. This will only be possible with support from the Treasury.”

British Heart Foundation chief executive Dr Charmaine Griffiths said: “Over 370,000 people are facing agonising waits for time-sensitive heart care, and the waiting list just keeps growing. It’s disappointing not to see anything further announced for this most urgent challenge. While some measures announced in the Budget will help with NHS staff retention issues, they do not go nearly far enough to address the acute NHS workforce crisis. The upcoming Government workforce plan will need major new investment to be a success, and we did not hear this in the Budget – this was a missed opportunity.”

Professor Andrew Elder, president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said the RCPE “hopes this will stem the rate of early retirement of consultants from the NHS workforce, the reasons behind such early retirement go well beyond finance. Our most experienced doctors need to have the time to undertake not only their work with patients, but also to teach and train those who will follow them. Lack of time for these two core elements of professional life leads to burnout and moral injury. The College welcomes changes in childcare provision – these will permit doctors at all stages of their careers to structure a more meaningful work-life balance, and will enhance our prospects of retaining doctors in the workforce. However, increasing numbers of people in the UK, including many in the healthcare professions, have responsibilities for their own parents and other older family members.”

British Medical Association deputy chair Dr Emma Runswick said: “When patients are suffering record waits for care and the morale of overstretched doctors and colleagues is at rock bottom due to chronic staff shortages, Mr Hunt’s promised NHS workforce plan cannot come soon enough. As the Chancellor himself points out, he pledged this plan back in November. We need it now. It needs to be funded and it needs to be transparent in forecasting how many healthcare staff we need now and, in the future, and crucially, outline how we will recruit and retain them.”