'Our pay hasn't gone up in years and we keep being asked to do more' - why GPs like me could be about to strike
“It’s busy. Normally, we get a quieter period in June and July, but it’s just been relentless,” says one Greater Manchester GP. Dr Faisal Bhutta has been ‘working all of the time’ for months now, as patients come forward with problems they have kept to themselves during the pandemic, he says.
GPs have been under a ‘pay freeze’ for around five years, he claims, limiting doctors to a one per cent rise each year. Practices have prioritised giving pay rises to other clinical and non-clinical staff, says Dr Bhutta, but by the time doctors’ wages are considered, there is no funding left in the pots of practices to hand out the raises.
“People have been keeping to themselves and not coming forward with their illnesses or problems. Everyone is coming out with things they have sat on, everybody is coming to see us,” he told the Manchester Evening News . The British Medical Association slammed the contract, saying NHS England had refused to offer practices reimbursement to cover additional costs for national insurance contributions, which could lead to cuts in staffing. Dr Bhutta says he, too, fears that lack of funding will lead to layoffs.
This Tameside GP says getting round the negotiating table should be the resolution to the pay question, otherwise, patients will suffer. But how to fix a dwindling number of medics wanting to go into general practice, and save the profession long-term, is another matter entirely.
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