GPs vote for funding action as 'warnings fall on deaf ears'

GP partners in Northern Ireland have voted in favour of taking collective action as part of their fight for increased funding for general practice.

Almost 80% of GP partners who are British Medical Association (BMA) members took part in the ballot of which 98.7% voted in favour of action.

The medics' trade union said this will see GP practices withdrawing some non-funded services.

BMA NI GP committee chair, Dr Frances O'Hagan, said the result sent a "clear and unequivocal message" to Health Minister Mike Nesbitt.

"We have been warning for well over a decade now that general practice was not being funded to meet the needs of growing patient lists and that failure to act on this would have consequences on patient care," she said.

"Frustratingly, these warnings have fallen on deaf ears."

Dr O'Hagan said the health minister "wants to shift healthcare services into the community where general practice sits at the core" and hopes to achieve this "by imposing an under-funded contract and publicly dismissing GPs' valid concerns on how this will impact patients in these very same communities".

"It is demoralising and has left GPs with no choice but to vote in favour of collective action."

Dr O'Hagan said the "imposed contract would serve to work against improving patient access".

She called on the health minister to "act urgently" and resume contract negotiations.

"Not one GP who voted in favour of collective action wants to have to go down this road, but they feel they have been left with no choice.

"The minister needs to demonstrate that he values general practice and that he has our backs by coming back to the negotiating table with an improved 2025/2026 contract offer."

The BMA had made a number of proposed collective actions in relation to the ballot.

These included:

• Limiting daily patient consultations per clinician to the UEMO (European Union of General Practitioners) recommended safe maximum of 25
• Serving notice on any voluntary activity
• Ceasing completion of unfunded paperwork
• Switching off Medicines Optimisation Software

In a statement on Friday morning, the Department of Health said it had "not yet received formal confirmation from the BMA of the outcome, nor of the specific measures that will comprise the collective action".

It said that it would be "important that GPs continue to adhere to the terms of their contract while taking any action, that there is no negative impact on patient safety and that access to service is maintained".

"The department recognises that primary care system is under considerable, sustained pressure and GPs and their teams are working hard but are struggling to meet the demand from patients."

It added that the financial challenges facing the Department of Health are well-known and in "that context, the £9.5m in additional funding included in the 2025/26 GMS contract represented the best possible offer the department could make for 2025/26".

"It is a matter of regret that the department has not been able to reach agreement in relation to the 2025/26 GMS contract."

The department said the health minister "remains open to discussion as to how best to secure the future of general practice so that it can remain a central part of primary care services now and in the future".

It said it had "already written to NIGPC inviting them to engage in formal negotiations to develop a new GMS contract", and that it "has not yet had a response to this offer".

However, the BMA said it had sent the results of the ballot to the department on Friday morning, and that it "had not invited us to engage in negotiations on the 2025-26 GMS contract".