NHS urges public to come forward for care during GP collective action

The NHS is asking the public to still come forward as usual for care during collective action by GP services.

GP services across England have begun collective for an indefinite period of time, and while there may be some disruption to services practices will remain open as usual and patients can make requests by phone, on-line or by walking in.

During collective action, practices are still required to be open between 08:00 and 18:30 Monday to Friday.

It is vital that patients still attend their appointments unless they are told otherwise, and practices should inform you of any changes to services.

The nature of the action means that the impacts will vary at different GP practices and from area to area but could include GPs limiting the number of patient appointments per day.

NHS teams have worked hard to plan for disruption and to mitigate this where possible to ensure services continued to be provided for patients.

Patients should continue to use 111 for urgent medical help when their GP practice is unavailable and if it is a serious or life-threatening emergency call 999.

Dr Amanda Doyle, NHS National Director for Primary Care and Community Services, said: “GPs and their teams are the bedrock of the NHS, and we recognise they are working really hard and dealing with record demand. On behalf of patients, the NHS has a duty to plan for collective action, and we will continue to work with government to find a resolution and end collective action.

“Our message to the public remains the same – they should continue to come forward for care during this collective action, as GP practices will remain open.”

An NHS Devon spokesperson said:

“GP services remain open, please contact your practice as normal if you have a healthcare need. Remember, not everyone will need to see their GP. Other services that you can access at your GP surgery will remain largely unaffected, but please check your GP surgery website or social media channels for any updates.

“Unless you are contacted by your GP surgery, you should still attend any planned GP appointments.

“Over the coming days and weeks, we will be working closely with GPs and colleagues to understand the detail of what any collective action may look like, and the plans that we need to put in place to support patients in Devon.

“During this time, health and social care services across Devon will continue to run as normal and we would encourage all patients to attend any appointments as planned.”

Background:

• Practices should directly advise patients on any changes that might impact their patients as a result of collective action.
• Over the past two years, the NHS has been focusing efforts on reducing the pressure on general practice teams before taking steps to introduce wider reforms and change. This has meant tackling some of the issues around improving patient access, cutting bureaucracy, and supporting teams, such as with training and providing digital tools to help them better manage demand with the available capacity and resources.
• Collective action would mean GPs taking action that, in this initial phase, is not in breach of their contracts. So, during collective action practices are still required to fulfil their contracts, this essentially means:
  • practices are required to be open between 0800 and 1830 Monday to Friday
  • practices should provide reasonable care to patients this includes:
    • making appointments available
    • providing advice or care to patients by another means
    • give advice on alternative services
• The GPCE have recommended 10 actions for collective action: GP contract 2024/25 changes (bma.org.uk)