Talking General Practice

Emma speaks to Dr Dominic Patterson, a GP in Doncaster, chair of the Royal College of GPs Health Equity Special Interest Group, and CEO of the charity Fair Health.In this conversation, Dominic talks about the college’s new Fairer Practice Toolkit, which provides practical, evidence-informed steps GP practices can take to tackle health inequalities. He explains how the toolkit breaks down over 100 actions into accessible tiers, supporting practices to make a meaningful difference.He also explains why practices should consider reframing DNAs through the lens of ‘missingness’ to better support vulnerable groups, how health equity focused training schemes are encouraging GPs into deprived practices, and simple changes - such as reviewing practice registration barriers - that make a big difference.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful links●     RCGP Fairer Practice Toolkit●     RCGP Health Equity Special Interest Group●     Fair Health●     NHS England’s Core 20-plus framework Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The GPonline team discusses the key news stories affecting general practice.Warning: This episode of the podcast includes discussion of suicide in the section about the GMC’s duty of care.This week we look at what we know about GP earnings after the latest data based on GPs’ tax returns for 2024/25 were published. He outlines what the figures tell us about how much both salaried GPs and GP partners are being paid and differences in earnings across England and the UK more widely.With NHS England’s consultation on new neighbourhood contracts set to close next week, the team discusses how these contracts could work in practice and what the BMA thinks about some of the proposals.And they talk about a legal appeal that is arguing that the GMC has a duty of care to the doctors it is investigating and what this means for the profession more widely.Our good news story this week is about how GPs in some parts of the country are leading the development of new neighbourhood services.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower, deputy editor Nick Bostock and senior reporter Kimberley Hackett. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful links●     GP income slowed in England in 2024/25 compared with rest of UK●     Regional income gap rising for partners but not salaried GPs●     ICBs will be expected to put more services and funds into GP neighbourhood contracts●     More PCN DES variations are imminent, says NHS England●     Doctor’s suicide drives legal challenge over GMC’s duty of care●     Midlands GPs agree £1m deal to run neighbourhood modelGPs lead roll out of multi-million pound neighbourhood scheme Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Emma speaks to Dr Jess Court, the acting chair of Nottinghamshire LMC, about safe working limits in general practice.In this conversation, Jess explains what safe working limits look like in day-to-day practice, why capping patient contacts and moving to 15-minute appointments is vital for patient safety, and how policies like unlimited online consultations are exacerbating GP workload and burnout.She also talks about the safe working charter developed by Nottinghamshire LMC, how practices can push back against unresourced workload transfers from secondary care, and the practical steps practice managers and GP partners can take to start embedding a safe working culture.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful links●     A blog for the BMA by Jess on this●     BMA safe working guidance●     Nottinghamshire Local Medical Committee Safe Working Charter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our regular news review is back! In this week’s episode Emma, Nick and Kimberley look at advice and guidance and single point of access for referrals after our own survey found that most GPs have seen a referral rejected inappropriately and nearly one in 10 have seen a patient harmed as a result. Meanwhile an interim report by the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) has linked advice and guidance to two patient deaths.They discuss list clearing after an analysis by Nick found that deprived areas have been hit hardest by this process, and figures showed 200,000 patients were cut from GP lists in a single month. Nick explains what this all means for practices and GP funding.And they look at the roll out of tirzepatide or Mounjaro, after an investigation by Kimberley suggested that less than a quarter of eligible patients were prescribed the drug on the NHS over the past year.This week’s good news story is about a fall in ICU admissions for infants after roll out of the RSV vaccine.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower, deputy editor Nick Bostock and senior reporter Kimberley Hackett. It was produced by Czarina Deen. Useful links●     GPs report patient harm as referral reforms kick in●     AI responses, patronising advice, more work: GP verdict on advice and guidance●     Watchdog links advice and guidance to patient deaths●     Deprived areas hit hardest by 'reckless' list cleaning●     Huge acceleration in list cleaning cuts 200,000 patients in a single month●     Just 1 in 4 eligible patients prescribed tirzepatide, GPonline investigation suggests●     GPs need support to speed up NHS tirzepatide rollout, says MP Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Emma speaks to the new chair of the BMA England GP committee Dr Clare Bannon.Clare has been in the role for just over a month and, in this conversation, she sets out her priorities and her plans to reset the BMA’s relationship with the government and NHS England.She discusses the committee’s key demands, including an extra £40 to £50 per patient in core funding and meaningful GP contract reform - and the importance of establishing a roadmap to meet those aims.She also talks about the underemployment crisis facing sessional GPs, the controversy surrounding NHS England’s list cleaning exercise, and concerns over single point of access referral pathways. And she shares her thoughts on neighbourhood health contracts and where the committee stands on further collective action - and a potential Plan B ballot.This episode is presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful linksGP funding ‘has not kept pace’ with exp[anding NHS roleGPs report patient harm as referral reforms kick inBMA sets out next step in collective action for AugustGPs denied billions as hospital funding grows 50% faster than primary careHalf of GPs say NHS general practice not financially viable ahead of 'Plan B' voteAggressive list cleaning to run over four-year cycle as reinvestment plans emerge Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.