Doctors reject contract offer

GPs in Wales have ‘delivered a clear message’ after overwhelmingly rejecting the terms of the latest general medical services contract offer.

A ballot on whether to accept or reject the 2024/25 GMS contract saw more than 1,000 GPs and GP registrars in Wales cast their votes, with 99 per cent voting against the offer.

The online referendum ran from 25 November to 16 December and saw a turnout of 68 per cent. It asked members to vote either accept or reject to the question: ‘Do you accept the 2024/25 GMS contract offer for general practice from the Welsh government?’ 

In the wake of the ballot, the BMA Welsh GPs committee has urged the Welsh Government to ‘urgently improve’ the terms of the offer, which the committee has previously warned falls ‘significantly short’ of the levels of investment required for staff pay and general business expenses.

Reflecting on the result, GPC Wales chair Gareth Oelmann said GPs in Wales had given a powerful mandate and a clear message that the existing contract offer was unacceptable.

He further warned that, if the Welsh government continued to ignore the voice of GPs, his committee would have no choice but to continue with preparations for collective action.

He said: ‘The profession has delivered a clear message with this result. We simply cannot keep services going and meet the needs of our patients with less money and fewer resources.

‘If we accept the offer as it is more practices will undoubtedly close leaving patients in greater peril, that’s why GPs from across Wales have taken a stand.

‘For years, the service has been starved of adequate funding which has led to the closure of 100 surgeries since 2012. 

‘This is having a devastating impact on general practice. A recent survey of our members showed that 91 per cent of GPs are routinely unable to meet patient demand due to unsustainably high workloads. 

‘With fewer surgeries available, GPs are now seeing up to 35 per cent more patients each, leading GPs to burnout, reduce their hours or leave. This is neither safe nor sustainable.’

Financial shortcomings and patient demand has seen enormous pressure place on GP services in Wales, prompting GPC Wales to last year call for a government rescue package as part of its ‘Save Our Surgeries’ campaign.

Dr Oelmann said: ‘We know that if general practice had a fairer portion of NHS funding for the wide-ranging portfolio of services we provide, the NHS in Wales would have a far greater chance of success, and most importantly, benefit patients overall.

‘Despite this, the Welsh Government has once again chosen to disregard our major, evidence-based concerns with this derisory offer.’