Defiant GPs slam new policy measures

A LEADING Plymouth GP says the Government’s ‘fixation’ with increasing face-to-face appointments has ignored the real problem of a shortage of doctors.

- ED OLDFIELD

Dr Mark Sanford-Wood said that doctors were astonished at the Government’s focus on in-person meetings with patients. The GP said the £250 million package of measures announced by Health Secretary Sajid Javid was “nowhere near enough” and was “likely to make things worse”.

Mr Javid said the money would be available for surgeries to employ extra temporary staff, including locum GPs. He also announced league tables for practices rated on the number of face-to-face appointments.

Dr Sanford-Wood said the Government’s policy appeared “confused and muddled” after GPs were encouraged to use technology to increase efficiency, including more remote consultations. The GP, who is a partner at Church View Surgery in Plymstock, said plans for a league table would be a “bully’s charter” which would “name and shame” practices.

Dr Sanford Wood, who is deputy chair of the England general practitioners committee of the British Medical Association (BMA), was responding to a survey which showed nine out of ten GPs opposed the measures in the Government’s winter plan for primary care.

Dr Sanford-Wood said: “The basic problem that we have is that there are just not enough GPs. This really unhelpful preoccupation over the last few weeks, particularly in some corners of the press and media, with face-to-face consultations appears to have driven Government policy.