Collective action
You may have had difficulty over the last few months getting through to the practice via the phones, a slower than expected response to eConsults and difficulty getting an appointment both for routine and urgent appointments. You are not alone.
General Practice across England is collapsing. Like so many others, Green Valleys Health (GVH) is struggling to treat you in the way we want to. As a result of a national ballot conducted by the British Medical Association (BMA), GVH have decided to join colleagues’ nationwide and take collective action which starts today, Monday 5th August.
We value our patients, and this action has not been taken lightly. We know that most patients value us too, especially when they need us regularly. You know we can deal with most of your health problems, keep you out of hospital, and have your best interests at heart. The problem is with the mismanagement of the NHS. The partners of GVH hope that this letter will help you to understand why this decision has been made, bearing in mind that this action is in Primary Care.
At Green Valleys we look after approx. 20k patients, with an average GP patient list (the number of patients each of our GPs look after) of 2300. The recommended BMA standard is a maximum of2000, ideally 1800 – in short, we need more GP’s and other clinicians but currently we are unable to afford this. To support our clinical team we need more receptionists, admin support staff etc – again we are unable to afford this.
We have seen a greater number of patients than BMA expectations as we want our GVH patients to be seen as quickly as possible, whilst working within a clinically safe environment. However, as from today we will be working BMA guidelines and provide twenty-five appointments per clinician.
We are currently paid £107.57 per patient per year to look after your health needs. This is less than the cost of an annual TV licence and equates to 30p per day, which is the cost of an apple. We were given by the previous Government a 1.9% contract increase in April 2024, but the national wage increased by 9.8%, we had to increase salaries for our non- clinical team by this amount. As a result, we have lost 7.9% in our budget which has had a major impact on the level of staffing we can afford.
We have had the added challenge of taking on work that our colleagues used to undertake in the hospitals, such as dressing wounds upon discharge, take bloods to help with consultant appointments before you visit secondary care. We are happy to help, but we do need the funding to go with this to enable us to recruit clinicians to help you, our patients to have an appointment and aid your health needs.
GPs want the same things that you do. We believe nobody should struggle to see their family doctor or their local health team. General Practice should be as it once was – a familiar family doctor, offering continuity of care in a surgery full of friendly familiar faces within a safe building where you will get the care you needed.
We believe general practice, which in turn means your local practice, deserves a bigger slice of NHS funding so we can train and hire more GPs and clinicians, deliver the services you require and make it easier for you and your loved ones to get appointments to see your GP and practice team.
You may think that the recent salary increase mentioned in the media is being awarded to our staff. As we are a separate entity the current pay award does not affect us, and our pay body is currently in consultation with the relevant NHS bodies to discuss this. However, as already mentioned we want a bigger slice of the ‘NHS pound’ to enable us to grow the Green Valleys Team and provide a better level of service and care for you, our patient.
You may think what can I do to help? Well contact your local MP and ask what they are doing to support an increase in primary care budget. You could join our active PPG group and help lobby the relevant bodies.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and your patience with us while we take this action – we are doing it to preserve your right to be seen at your local practice and for all GPs across the country to remain open.
Yours sincerely
The partners of Green Valleys Health