This week Emma speaks to Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, the chair of the BMA England GP committee, about what the future holds for general practice

Katie explains why this year’s contract deal is the start of a long journey of recovery for general practice and the basis on which to create a more positive future for the profession.

Now that the government has agreed to negotiate a completely new GP contract, Katie explains what her priorities will be in those contract negotiations and how the BMA will be making the case for greater investment in general practice.

She talks about whether general practice should be directly reimbursed for staff costs, what should replace the Carr-Hill formula and whether it’s now time to define what core services in general practice actually are.

Katie also explains why GPs need to keep up the pressure in their area to secure better funding for local enhanced services, how she thinks neighbourhoods could impact on general practice and also why she feels more hopeful about the future than at any other point since she qualified as a GP.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

Full GPonline coverage of the 2025/26 GP contract

Define GP core services or risk unfunded work transfer from hospitals, LMCs to warn

BMA guidance on the 2025/26 GP contract

BMA safe working guidance

Patients first – Why general practice is broken and how can we fix it - BMA manifesto

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The GPonline team discusses the key news stories affecting general practice.

This week the team looks at GP recruitment under the additional roles reimbursement scheme and what new figures tell us about how that initiative is working.

They also talk about cuts to integrated care boards, what that could mean for general practice and how the financial constraints within the NHS are already impacting on funding for local services provided by GPs.

Our good news story is about funding for research in GP practices.

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

Map: Which areas have recruited the most ARRS GPs?

Hundreds of PCNs yet to hire a single ARRS GP

ICB cuts 'could slow down move to neighbourhood NHS'

200 practices could boycott LESs after ICB cut millions from funding offer

What could ICB cuts mean for general practice?

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This week Emma speaks to Professor Naomi Allen, chief scientist at UK Biobank, a biomedical database and research resource that contains data, information and biological samples from half a million UK participants.

Naomi, who is also a professor of epidemiology at the University of Oxford, explains how UK Biobank was established, how it works, and the wealth of data it holds.

Naomi also discusses the crucial role primary care data will play and explains how it will be incorporated into UK Biobank in the coming months.

And she outlines some of the groundbreaking research that has already been conducted using UK Biobank data and how this could revolutionise patient care in general practice in the future.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

UK Biobank’s website

Details on how to access UK Biobank data as a researcher

Information about UK Biobank and GP patient data

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On this week’s podcast Emma and Nick talk about how this year’s GP contract will affect practices’ finances and look at details of the advice and guidance enhanced service after final contract documents were published.

Kimberley explains how collective action has helped one LMC secure a significant uplift to local enhanced service funding.

And Nick talks through the results of this year’s British Social Attitudes survey, which was widely reported and shows satisfaction with the NHS and general practice has continued to fall. He explains why these results don’t tell the whole story of what’s going on in general practice.

Our good news story this week is about GP practices signing up to become parkrun practices.

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 contract threatens ‘vast gaps’ between practices and ARRS shortfall, expert warns

ICB 'interface' groups to oversee expansion of advice and guidance

ICB nearly triples LES budget after collective action and LMC talks

GPs question major poll showing patient satisfaction at new low

Landmark for GPs as 2,000th practice joins parkrun scheme

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This week’s episode looks at GPs with extended roles and how they could help move services out of hospitals and into the community, reduce waiting times for patients and boost GP retention.

Emma is speaking to Dr Charlie Andrews, a GP partner and a GP with an extended role in gastroenterology. Charlie is the driving force behind a programme in the south west of England that trains GPs with extended roles in gastroenterology. This has been the basis for a new framework for GPs with extended roles that has been endorsed by the Primary Care Gastroenterology Society and the British Society of Gastroenterology.

Charlie explains how the training programme works and the potential for GPs with extended roles to improve referral pathways and tackle some of the challenges facing the NHS, including workforce issues. He also talks about why the framework should be used by ICBs to develop GPs with extended roles in gastroenterology across England and how it could provide a model for other clinical specialties to develop GPs with extended roles.

Charlie is happy for anyone who wants to discuss the training programme or anything to do with GPwER in gastroenterology to contact him by email on [email protected].

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

The GPwER in gastroenterology framework

RCGP information on GPwERs - including links to frameworks for some other specialties

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This week Emma and Nick talk about the government agreeing to negotiate a completely new GP contract within the term of this parliament and what that could mean for the profession.

They also discuss the government’s decision to scrap NHS England and how it could affect general practice. And they look at the future of the GP partnership model after an influential health think tank, the Nuffield Trust, suggested that the government should develop alternative models for general practice.

Our good news story this week is about patient access to general practice.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and deputy editor Nick Bostock. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

Government commits to talks on major new GP contract to keep 2025/26 deal on track

What does NHS England's abolition mean for general practice?

Two GPs named in revamped NHS executive team

Government 'should develop alternative GP models' amid rapid decline in partners

Map: Which areas are performing best on the government's GP access benchmark?

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This week Emma speaks to Dr Iain Morrison, chair of the BMA Scotland GP committee Scotland, about the critical challenges facing general practice in Scotland.

In this conversation Iain explains some of the challenges general practice in Scotland is facing as a result of problems with the 2018 GP contract, the impact of underfunding, and the growing crisis in the GP job market.

He explains what needs to happen to address these issues and the prospect of GPs in Scotland taking industrial action in the coming year unless the government takes steps to increase funding – and discusses why GP practices should adopt the BMA safe working guidance.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

BMA safe workload guidance for GPs in Scotland

'Devastated' practices lay off staff after five-figure premises cost hike - GPonline story about the premises problems facing practices in Lothian

GP practices in Scotland promised £10.5m to boost capacity

Scottish GPs call for national fix to help IMG doctors secure visas

Two thirds of Scottish GPs ready to disrupt services through industrial action

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This week Emma and Nick look at the GP contract deal for England for 2025/26.

They discuss what exactly is in the deal and what it means for GP practices in the year ahead, in particular what it could mean for practice finances and whether changes to the additional roles reimbursement scheme will address the GP jobs crisis.

They also talk about what happens now with collective action and the BMA’s push for more significant contract reform in the coming years.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and deputy editor Nick Bostock. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

• Read all of our GP contract coverage here
• What's in the GP contract for 2025/26?
• Early-career GPs spell out how a new contract can secure their future
• What does the pause in collective action really mean for GPs?

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This week Emma speaks to Dr John Ford and GP Dr Liam Loftus from the Health Equity Evidence Centre at Queen Mary University in London about health inequalities and how frontline clinicians, system leaders and policymakers can make evidence-based decisions to tackle inequality in healthcare.

John and Liam discuss how the Health Equity Evidence Centre is making the evidence on what works when it comes to addressing health inequalities more accessible.

The centre uses machine learning to analyse the vast amount of research and literature that’s available and the team at the centre turns that information into actionable insights for GPs, other frontline clinicians, healthcare managers and policymakers.

John and Liam explain how this all works in practice, the resources they have available and how this can help GPs, practices and primary care networks in their day to day work. They also talk about projects they are currently working on, including how GP funding inequalities can be addressed, and how they hope to establish a solid evidence base for what works when it comes to tackling health inequalities.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

Health Equity Evidence Centre

Outdated GP funding formula leaves practices in deprived areas with 10% less funding

Talking General Practice episode with Dr Becks Fisher from the Nuffield Trust on - How can we make GP funding fairer?

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This week the team talks about the GP jobs’ crisis after the BMA held a virtual rally last week to help the union shape its plans for how to address the job shortage facing salaried and locum GPs. They also explain the findings from GPonline’s own survey of locum GPs that shows the impact this has had on rates of pay and the finances and wellbeing of those doctors affected.

And they discuss GP premises following a report published last week by the NHS Confederation that suggested NHS Property Services, which owns a significant number of GP premises, should be scrapped.

Our good news story this week is about practices in the north West which have received extra funding to help them develop research hubs.

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

BMA reveals 'vital' GP contract priorities that could solve jobs crisis

Most locum GPs struggling to find work as jobs crisis devastates income

Registrars delaying GP qualification because they can’t find jobs, says LMC

New GPs are being 'muscled out' of the NHS, warns registrars leader

Government should abolish NHSPS and pay off GP service charges, report suggests

GP practices share nearly £1m fund to expand research hubs

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