On Monday 24th October 2011, the British Medical Association (BMA) published the concluding results of their major survey of GP opinion. The results revealed that GPs opinions and concerns regarding the major issues the general practice face are outstandingly clear.

The BMA survey, conducted in April 2011, questioned every GP in the UK on issues, such as morale, workload and the possible changes occurring in primary care due to the Health and Social Care Bill. 18,757 (40%) of 46,700 GPs responded, making it the most considerable survey of its kind in recent years.

Important discoveries include:
  • 88% of GPs (9 out of 10) stated that in the last five years, the intensity of their consultations has increased.
  • 75% of GPs in England do not concur with the proposal in the Health and Social Care Bill to connect practice income to the performance of their commissioning group.
  • 84% of GPs (17 out of 20) explained that the complexity of their consultations has risen in the last five years.
  • 85% do not believe that practice boundaries should be terminated.
  • 7 in 10 GPs are concerned regarding conflicts of interest inherent in the reforms, for both their role as the commissioners and providers of care (69%) and for the impact they could have on the patient-doctor relationship (69%).
Dr Laurence Buckman, Chairman of the BMA’s GPs Committee, commented:

“The huge response rate shows how strongly GPs feel about the topics in question, particularly when it comes to the changes being made to the health service in England. GPs do not want the trust patients put in them to be damaged by these reforms, yet this is exactly what they fear will happen. The government must take heed and further revise its plans for the quality premium in particular, to avoid any potential damage to the doctor-patient relationship.

General practice has undergone huge change since the last time we carried out a survey of this size in 2007 – and this is shown clearly by the belief among the vast majority of GPs that the nature of their work has become more complex and intense. Much of the work we do now, such as looking after people with diabetes, used to be done in hospital and even though it’s work we want to do because of the clear benefit to patients, it has made it harder to fit a consultation into a ten minute time slot and it can make it more difficult to deal with surges in demand.

I’d like to thank all the GPs who filled in the survey as it has given us a great insight into the GP workforce. It will be invaluable in shaping our priorities in the months and years ahead.”




Written by Grace Rattue