This week the team talks about ongoing GP contract negotiations in England for next year and asks whether the contract for 2023/24 could be imposed.

They discuss a rise in partnership and PCN disputes and what might be behind this trend as well as the latest on this month’s junior doctor strikes.

They also look at the government’s record on the NHS, including how it’s handling the care backlog and discuss GP workforce statistics after they passed a pretty grim milestone last month.

Our good news story this week is about a local patient campaign that’s forced an integrated care board to U-turn on its plans for a large provider to take over a small practice in Lancashire.

Produced by Czarina Deen

Useful links

●     GP contract could overhaul funding frameworks worth £2.5bn a year

●     NHS 'in full-blown crisis' as recovery plan falls short, MPs warn

●     'Grim milestone' passed in steady decline of GP workforce

●     Why GP trainees will join junior doctor strikes in their thousands

●     Victory for campaign to save local GP after ICB U-turn on practice takeover

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Emma speaks to Dr Rowena Christmas, chair of RCGP Wales and a GP in the Wye Valley on the Welsh/English border.

Rowena has been heavily involved in the college’s work over the past couple of years on relationship-based care - or continuity of care - and in this conversation she explains why she feels this is so important and how GPs and practices can embed this in the way that they work.

She also talks about recruitment and retention of GPs and what’s happening in Wales, the impact recent NHS pressures have had on GPs and her priorities over the next two years as chair of the college in Wales.

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

Useful links

·      GP access debate must shift to emphasise quality as well as speed, warns RCGP

·      The RCGP's report on relationship-based care

·      RCGP Wales

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In our fortnightly news review the team looks at what we know about GP contract negotiations in England for 2023/24 after the BMA rejected NHS England’s ‘insulting’ offer.

They discuss an integrated care board’s plans to commission all GP enhanced services via primary care networks and what the wider implications of this could be. And they talk about the findings of the GMC’s latest review on bias in its processes.

The good news story for this week is about a community in Cornwall that is going to extra lengths to find a new GP to join their local practice.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower, news editor Nick Bostock and senior reporter Eleanor Philpotts. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

●     GPs reject 'insulting' contract as BMA issues stark warning over 'death of general practice'

●     NHS backs 2.1% salaried GP pay rise from April as contract talks continue

●     ICB draft contract spells out plan to move enhanced services worth millions away from practices

●     GPs don't believe integrated care systems will improve patient care

●     Cornish community creates music video in bid to recruit new GP

●     Link to Ain’t Got No Doctor

●     Lostwithiel Needs A Doctor website

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Emma speaks to NHS England’s director of healthcare inequalities and Midlands GP Professor Bola Owolabi about how to reduce inequity in healthcare.

Bola talks about how she became interested in health inequalities, her vision for tackling inequity and she makes the economic argument for why we must address health disparities.

Bola also explains NHS England’s CORE20PLUS5 approach to tackling inequalities, how this provides a framework for primary care networks to focus their efforts when it comes to improving population health, and why she believes this could ultimately make a big difference to patients and communities.

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

Useful links

●     CORE20PLUS5 for adults

●     CORE20PLUS5 for children

●     CORE20PLUS5 e-learning for health modules

●     The RCGP’s health inequalities hub

Evidence for NHS England’s five clinical priorities

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GPonline launched its new GP Insight data tool this week and our first project is a GP workforce tracker. On the podcast this week Nick and Emma look at some of the data in the tracker and what this tells us about the GP workforce in different parts of England.

They also talk about a recently published study that highlights the impact that poor GP retention has on patients and the wider NHS and discuss the government’s latest plans for the NHS and what’s going on with the current wave of strikes.

Finally, our senior reporter Ellie joins us to tell us about a good news story involving a long-serving GP who overcame a severe COVID infection and inspired a local folk band to write a song about him.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower, news editor Nick Bostock and senior reporter Ellie Philpotts. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

●     GP Insight Workforce Tracker

●     Introducing GP Insight

●     GPs care for up to 800 more patients each in underdoctored areas

●     Where in England are patients per GP rising fastest?

●     GP partners in decline in almost every part of England

●     Professor Kamila Hawthorne: General practice is at breaking point – the government must act

●     Doctor Boro': GP who survived COVID-19 inspires folk song

●     Doctor Boro’ on YouTube

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The BMA is currently balloting junior doctor members on whether to take industrial action, which could see them stage a three-day walkout in March.

This week Emma speaks to chair of the BMA’s GP trainee committee Dr David Smith about why junior doctors have reached this point.

David explains why the BMA is pushing for full pay restoration for junior doctors and the impact that falling levels of pay have had on the profession.

He also talks about how the current ballot works and what happens if it is successful, what GP trainees need to know about taking industrial action and how GPs can support their junior doctors if they do go on strike.

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

Useful links

●     BMA junior doctor guide to strike action

●     Pay restoration for junior doctors - full details of the industrial action ballot and other information relating to the pay restoration campaign from the BMA

●     Donate to the BMA’s strike fund here

Related stories on GPonline

●     BMA urges junior doctors to back strikes after health secretary meeting

●     Junior doctors struggling to pay bills as poll reveals impact of 26% real-terms pay cut

●     GPs back junior doctors over industrial action

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Emma and Nick talk about Labour’s plans for the NHS and general practice more specifically, which have not gone down well with a lot of GPs.

They also discuss plans to speed up patient discharges from hospitals and what this could mean for general practice as well as the RCGP’s new exam for GP trainees, which could be in place by the end of 2023.

Our good news story this week takes a look at the latest data from England’s Friends and Family Test.

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

Useful links

●     GPs hit out at 'misguided' Labour plans for self-referral and practice reform

●     GP partnerships are the most cost-effective part of the NHS, GPs tell Labour

●     Vast majority of patients report positive GP experience despite soaring pressure

●     New GP exam to replace RCA by end of 2023, says RCGP

●     Patients being discharged too early in rush to free up hospital beds, GPs warn

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Kent GP Dr Chris Newman is one of the co-founders of Doctors for Extinction Rebellion, a group of healthcare professionals that campaigns for action on climate change. As part of his involvement in the group Chris has taken part in direct action and last year was arrested and charged under public order laws following a protest in central London.

In this conversation Emma talks to Chris about why he set up Doctors for Extinction Rebellion - which is in the process of changing its name to Health for Extinction Rebellion - and his experience of being arrested and appearing in court on charges.

Chris also explains why education on climate change for all NHS staff is so important and his own push to educate people in his community about the importance of taking steps to address climate change - however small.

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

Useful resources

●     Doctors for Extinction Rebellion

●     The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change

●     UN Climate Change reports

●     Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

●     Climate FRESK

●     Take the Jump

Other useful information from GPonline

●     Five steps to sustainable primary care

●     GP practices can be 'more ambitious' on tackling climate change

●     5 ways GPs can help patients affected by air pollution

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With the NHS facing unprecedented pressure and horrendous stories emerging about the impact this has had on both patients and staff, we look at what the crisis means for general practice, what representative organisations want the government to do and what steps might need to be taken to help GP practices cope.

We also discuss industrial action - in particular the BMA ballot of junior doctors, which gets underway on Monday 9 January - and we look at the latest GP workforce data and some results from our recent survey that highlight how hard GPs had to work during 2022.

In our good news section we highlight the GPs – and an advanced nurse practitioner – who received awards in the New Year Honours.

Your good news stories

Things are really tough in general practice, but we are always keen to highlight positive news and the good work that is going on in primary care on both the podcast and GPonline.com.

If you are up to anything in your practice or working life that you think deserves attention - or you would like to give a shout out to an individual, practice or other organisation or group that you think is making a real difference, then please do get in touch. You can email us at [email protected].

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

Useful links

●     Sunak urged to recall parliament as 'broken NHS' leaves GPs driving patients to hospital

●     NHS under 'intolerable' pressure as flu, COVID-19 and strep A deepen crisis

●     Most GPs exceed safe limit for appointments every working day, poll reveals

●     Decline in GP workforce accelerates as workload continues to surge

●     GPs among those recognised in New Year Honours

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This week the team looks at record levels of drug shortages, the latest on group A strep and how it is affecting GPs and their teams and talk about the GP workforce in the most deprived parts of England.

They also discuss why many practices are facing a precarious future because of the lack of GP partners and how inflation and the cost of living crisis is affecting GP practices – and there’s a good news story on long COVID.

Talking General Practice will be back in January 2023. Merry Christmas and happy new year from the team.

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

Useful links

●     MIMS drug shortages tracker

●     NHS England and UKHSA guidance on group A strep in children

●     Shortage protocol for antibiotics imminent as penicillin prescriptions soar

●     Nine in 10 GPs say cost-of-living crisis has destabilised practice finances

●     NHS bosses ask GPs to cover for striking ambulance workers

●     Drug shortages hit new peak and add to pressure on GP practices

●     Study on pacing and long COVID

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