Talking General Practice

If you do locum GP work complete our annual survey on GP locum rates here - you will be entered into a prize draw to win £250 of John Lewis vouchers.Is the NHS making best use of the locum GP workforce and how is the current crisis in the GP jobs market affecting locum GPs?This week Dr Richard Fieldhouse, chair of the National Association of Sessional GPs (NASGP), speaks to Emma about all things related to locum GPs. Around a third of GPs in England are not currently working in substantive posts in GP practices and many of these doctors will be working as locums. Richard set up the NASGP in 1998 to provide support to locum GPs and lobby policymakers on issues specific to locums. In this interview he explains how the current jobs market is affecting locum GPs and the rates they are receiving for work, what the NHS could do to make better use of locums and the value locums bring to general practice.He also talks about why being a locum is still a good career choice and offers some advice for GPs starting out as locums and for practices on how they can get the best from their locum GPs.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful linksNational Association of Sessional GPsGP job shortage forces locums to cut fees and take on private workHow to create a GP portfolio careerManchester University research Richard mentions in the podcastBecoming a GP locum: Setting your ratesBecoming a GP locum: Setting your termsBecoming a GP locum: Invoicing and expensesIf you do locum GP work complete our annual survey on GP locum rates here - you will be entered into a prize draw to win £250 of John Lewis vouchers.

Just before Christmas the government announced an £889m funding uplift for the GP contract in 2025/26 - Nick and Emma discuss whether that funding is enough to stabilise practices and what the government will be asking for in the next contract.They also talk about the government and NHS England’s elective reform plan, which was unveiled this week and sets out steps to hit the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this parliament. The plan includes a number of measures involving GPs and primary care, so what does it all mean for general practice?Our good news story this week highlights those GPs recognised in the new year honours.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and deputy editor Nick Bostock. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful linksWhat do we know about the 2025/26 GP contract?Is £889m the lifeline practices need to keep them afloat?Two-tier' job risk as practice nurses join ARRSGPs to be paid £20 per request in £80m advice and guidance planUnderstaffed GP practices 'not ready' to take on more work from hospitalsGPs recognised in 2025 New Year Honours

Emma speaks to GP Dr Tommy Perkins and accountant Andy Pow from Medics Money about the year ahead for general practice finance and how practices can ensure their business is in good shape.Medics Money has a website, podcast and a number of courses that provide doctors with education and support on all things to do with money, including personal finance and practice finance.Tommy is a GP partner who set up Medics Money with fellow GP Dr Ed Cantelo and Andy is a specialist medical accountant and has spent many years working with GP practices, supporting them with their accounts and their finances and now also works with Medics Money.In this conversation Andy and Tommy talk about the financial pressures practices will face this year including the rise in the national minimum wage rise and employers’ national insurance contributions, as well as the importance of making sure local enhanced services are profitable for practices.They also talk about how the GP contract needs to change going forwards to ensure practices are more sustainable, problems with GP premises, offer some advice for GPs on their NHS pension, including for those affected by the McCloud remedy, and provide some general advice on finances in the year ahead.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful linksWhat does the McCloud judgment mean for my NHS pension from Medics MoneyMcCloud RPSS explained for doctors - remedial pension statement explainer on YouTubeMedics Money financial education for partners course Medics Money financial education for non partners  From GPonlineGovernment unveils £889m GP funding boost for 2025/26Is £889m the lifeline practices need to keep them afloat?

This week Emma speaks to chief executive of the National Academy for Social Prescribing Charlotte Osborn Forde and Dr Radha Modgil, a GP and TV and radio broadcaster, who is also an ambassador for the National Academy for Social Prescribing.In this conversation Charlotte and Radha explain some of the evidence to support the use of social prescribing, what works in projects on the ground and the important role GPs have to play within social prescribing.They also discuss some of the challenges facing social prescribing, what practices and PCNs can do to ensure their social prescribing initiatives are a success and how they would like to see social prescribing develop in the coming years as part of the government’s 10-year plan for the NHS.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful linksFrom GPonline - The evidence to support the use of social prescribingFrom GPonline - The benefits of green prescribing in the NHSNASP report - The impact of social prescribing on health service use and costsNASP report - Building the economic case for social prescribingPreventing and Tackling Mental Ill Health through Green Social Prescribing Project - government evaluation

The GPonline team talks about some of the challenges the NHS could face this winter and what all this means for general practice.They also look at how the GP jobs crisis is affecting locum GPs - and discuss some worrying signs that the lack of detail on any support practices are likely to receive on employer’s national insurance is having a devastating impact on some practices.And they talk about whether GPs in Wales and Scotland could be following their English counterparts and launching some form of industrial action in the push for a better GP contract.This week’s good news story is about an ICB area in England that is bucking the trend and has seen a big fall in the number of patients per GP over the past two years and what they’ve done to achieve this.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower, deputy editor Nick Bostock and senior news reporter Kimberley Hackett. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful linksGP job shortage forces locums to cut fees and take on private workARRS jobs have not solved employment crisis for newly-qualified GPs, trainers warnGPs fear 'domino effect' as practice set to close over NI hikeTwo thirds of Scottish GPs ready to disrupt services through industrial actionWelsh GPs head for referendum after BMA rejects 2024/25 contract offerHow part of England bucked the national trend and grew its GP workforce 

NHS England has estimated that practices spend around 10-20% of their time on 'lower-value administrative work and work generated by issues at the primary-secondary care interface', so what can we do to address this?This week Emma speaks to GP Dr Jonathan Griffiths the associate medical director for Primary Care at NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB about work he’s been doing in his area to solve some of these challenges.In this conversation Jonathan explains some of the main problems that happen at the interface between primary and secondary care, how they are aiming to address these in Cheshire and Merseyside and the key things he’s learned through doing this work.He also talks about why it is so important for the NHS to look at this as a system-wide issue and what the government and NHS England need to do centrally to help support local efforts to address these problems – as well as how this work applies to the interface with other sectors such as community services and mental health.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful links●     NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Consensus on the Primary and Secondary Care Interface●     RCGP Primary-Secondary Care Interface Guidance - which is based on work in Cheshire and Merseyside●     Academy of Medical Royal Colleges publication - General practice and secondary care: Working better together - provides multiple examples of work that is aiming to improve working between primary and secondary care

This week Nick and Emma discuss whether GPs are likely to step up collective action after GPs at last week’s England LMCs conference voted in favour of balloting the profession on ‘more significant’ industrial action. GPs at the event also voted to hold a special conference on the impact that the rise in employers' national insurance contributions, and Nick and Emma explain what that might mean and how it could affect collective action.They also discuss some of the other debates that were of interest from the conference - on the GP jobs crisis and integrated neighbourhood teams. And they talk about the latest data from GPonline’s GP Workforce Tracker and what that tells us about the state of the GP workforce in England.This week’s good news story is about a report that sets out the evidence to support the use of social prescribing from the National Academy of Social Prescribing.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and deputy editor Nick Bostock. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful linksGPs back call to ballot profession on 'more significant' industrial actionBudget threatens 'collapse' of general practice as LMCs back special conferencePractices could be forced to switch salaried GPs for locums to avoid NI costsWhere in England are patients per GP rising fastest?GP Workforce Tracker: How does your ICB compare?The evidence to support the use of social prescribing - from GPonlineNational Academy for Social Prescribing report

This week Emma speaks to Kent GP Dr Gaurav Gupta who is a member of the BMA England GP committee and the committee lead for premises.In this conversation Gaurav talks about the terrible state of GP premises in England, how we’ve reached this point and why the government needs to invest in the primary care estate if it is serious about growing the workforce, improving the NHS and moving more care into the community.He also explains what the new premises cost directions could mean for practices, the problems facing practices based in NHS Property Services buildings and why GP premises ownership should still have an important role in future plans for the primary care estate.This episode is presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful linksBMA information on the recent NHS Property Services legal casesOne in three GPs say their premises and computers are not fit for purposeGPs could have premises developments fully funded as new cost directions publishedWhat do the Premises Costs Directions 2024 mean for practices? - from our sister site GP Business

Emma and NIck discuss the fallout from the budget and what the increase in employer’s national insurance contributions will mean for GP practices, including looking at the results from our own survey on this issue.They look ahead to next week’s England local medical committee conference and some of the topics that are up for debate and what they tell us about some of the key concerns facing the profession.And they discuss salaried GP pay, after warnings that the GP jobs crisis is driving down levels of pay for salaried GPs.This week’s good news story is about ONS survey data that suggests patient satisfaction with general practice is rising rapidly.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and deputy editor Nick Bostock. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful linksBudget threatens to wipe out half of 2024/25 GP contract upliftNational insurance hike could cost 2m GP appointments, analysis findsGP jobs crisis is driving down rates of pay, BMA warnsPatient satisfaction with general practice rising rapidly, ONS data suggest