The first industrial action by GPs in 60 years would cripple the NHS, a leading doctor has warned.
GPs across England are being voted out amid a row over the new contract for GP services in England.
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This could mean that GPs would limit the number of patients they see per day to 25 and could stop carrying out work for which they have not been formally contracted.
Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chair of the BMA GPs committee, said: “We are not going on strike. It’s an industrial action, but the target is not patients.
“The target is NHS England and the Department of Health. This will quickly bring the NHS to a halt.
“But not for patients, (for) all the NHS administrators, the policymakers who have made decisions that are not helping patients.”
Voting ends today and the action, the first since 1964, would begin on August 1st and could last “months”.
The BMA says the new contract – a 1.9 per cent funding increase for 2024/25 – means surgeries will struggle to stay afloat.
Dr Bramall-Stainer met with Health Secretary Wes Streeting on July 18 and union leaders hope these talks will continue.
Earlier this month, she presented a series of requests to the Government, including the new Family Doctors Charter; a “minimum investment standard” for general practice; a call to build “real terms reinvestment into general practice; and a call for “family physician list size ratios to patients.”
Streeting’s first official visit in his new role was to a London doctor’s surgery on July 8, where he pledged to “bring back the family doctor” and “fix the front door of the NHS”.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The Health and Social Care Secretary met with the chair of the BMA GP committee to discuss his priorities before voting closes on 29 July.
“However, it is important that we plan for all contingencies, in all eventualities, to keep patients safe.”
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