GP leaders have set out the measures they believe are needed to ensure that practices can cope with the growing pressures of the coming winter.

Growing rates of COVID-19 infection are leading to GPs getting increasing numbers of inquiries – while at the same time trying to help the NHS get routine services back on track. There has also been criticism of alleged failings to offer face to face appointments – although GP leaders have been backed by data showing that about half of appointments continue to be in person. Practices are now facing further pressures because a shortage of flu vaccines means that many pharmacies are unable to offer them.

Now the British Medical Association says practices must get free protective equipment to ensure appointments can continue. The government has promised there will be adequate supplies over the next few months. It also calls for practices to get specialist equipment to ensure efficient home working – and funding for structural changes to buildings to ensure infection control and social distancing can be maintained. The BMA also wants guarantees that red tape levels will stay low and routine inspections suspended.

BMA GP committee chair Dr Richard Vautrey said: “During the height of the pandemic earlier in the year GPs and their teams worked incredibly hard and through innovation rapidly reconfigured their ways of working to ensure that they could continue to serve their communities safely, while prioritising care for those who needed it most. With the UK recording a record number of daily COVID cases yesterday, GPs, like all doctors, are extremely concerned that without decisive action now services will be overwhelmed if we see another spike in the coming weeks and months. This means giving practices and the profession all they need – whether that’s an occupational health service similar to that already freely available to hospital workers so that staff get the vital risk assessments needed to protect them, or funding to extend surgery buildings to ensure social distancing and infection control measures are maintained, keeping patients and staff safe.”

The Royal College of GPs called for government guidance if flu vaccine shortages continued. Chair Professor Martin Marshall said: “The additional cohort of year 11 school children and over 50s were included in this year’s programme, at a fairly late stage, so GPs are working hard to ensure that priority is given to those in the traditional ‘at risk’ groups, such as the elderly, those with pre-existing health problems like asthma and pregnant women. GPs are not rationing flu jabs but rather prioritising patients most in urgent need. We urge patients in these vulnerable and at risk groups to arrange a flu jab if they haven’t already. They can be reassured about the safety of having the vaccine at their GP surgery as GPs are going to great lengths and taking every precaution to ensure that practices are safe.”

The plea came as the chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty warned of a “long winter ahead of us.” Professor Whitty said that outbreaks could be “more highly concentrated in certain areas.”

He spoke as Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed the hope that the outbreaks could be confined to particular regions of the country, allowing local lockdowns to be used to manage them. Liverpool is reported to be considering a total shutdown for two weeks. The Prime Minister added: “This remains a national threat and a national challenge and we all have to fight it together. We can’t just expect it to be solved in the parts of the country which we think are particularly affected – it’s down to down to all of us.”

The UK yesterday reported 7,108 new cases of infection and 71 new deaths. Professor Whitty warned there is now growing pressure on critical care services as hospital admissions from the virus increase.