Having more practice nurses in post and a ‘fair deal’ for the profession is essential to saving general practice, the British Medical Association’s GP Committee in England (GPCE) has urged the government.
A new blueprint published by the GPCE has today outlined its ‘vision’ to rebuild general practice, warning services are currently ‘collapsing’.
It sets out a list of recommendations for the government and NHS England, including a call for more practice nurses and GPs to help ‘meet the needs of our patients by delivering more appointments’.
It reiterated its calls to review the additional roles reimbursement scheme – which supports primary care networks with the costs of recruiting some roles – to help support the recruitment of more general practice nurses (GPNs).
For example, it said the ARRS could have ringfenced funding for ‘practice-based GP nursing fellowships to help practices employ more of the roles they need, and that patients want’.
The ARRS currently includes nursing associates, advanced nursing practitioners and enhanced level practice nurses – but excludes GPNs more widely. The government recently announced plans to include more than 1,000 GPs in the scheme.
The GPCE’s vision – called ‘Patients First’ – also highlights the need for ‘fairer pay and reward for all staff’.
Specifically, it said that GPNs must have a ‘fair deal’ and that they ‘deserve parity of terms’ with their trust-employed NHS colleagues, including around parental and sickness leave.
Overarchingly, the committee has called on the new government and NHS England to work with them to focus on ‘the short, medium and longer-term needs to not only create a safe and sustainable general practice, but also a safe and sustainable NHS’.
It has asked for an additional 11p per patient per day for essential services in 2025/26, ‘increasing current investment from £112.50 to £152.50 per year’, to ‘stabilise GP practices and buy us time to secure a new contract fit for the future’.
Summary of the GPCE’s recommendations:
- Bring back the family doctor – by seeing the same clinician, patients can build trust in who delivers their care and receive a better service
- More GPs and more practice nurses to meet the needs of our patients by delivering more appointments
- Put patient safety first by aiming for a gold standard of 1 FTE (full-time equivalent) GP per 1,000 patients by 2040 alongside a safe number of 25 appointments per GP per day
- An increase to GP practice core funding in England by at least £40 per patient for 2025/26
- A new GP contract for England, which would commit to a minimum general practice investment standard that protects and builds neighbourhood services – Focus on recruiting and retaining new doctors using incentive schemes, prioritising under-doctored areas
- A commitment to address the crumbling general practice estate, making it fit for the future, and able to meet the growing needs of patients in community settings.
Executive director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England, Patricia Marquis, said: ‘This is a very welcome endorsement of the significant role nursing staff play in general practice.
‘Trusted by patients and a core part of the primary care teams, nursing staff working in general practice must have as a minimum not only the parity on pay but also terms and conditions and professional development opportunities as their colleagues employed directly by the NHS.’
She added: ‘For too long this crucial part of the primary care workforce has been left behind and we look forward to working alongside the BMA GPCE and others in the renegotiation of contracts to ensure the nursing voice is heard loud and clear along with their GP colleagues.’
The Department of Health and Social Care has been contacted for comment.
