Government’s “neglect” of GP workforce has made services unsafe, conference hears

General practice in England is being “damaged and broken” through neglect and exploitation by the government, a conference of GP leaders has heard.Representatives at the conference of England’s local medical committees (LMCs) in London on 24 November passed a motion calling for integrated care systems (ICSs) to be responsible for ensuring that the ratio of GPs to patients is sufficient to enable practices to provide safe care.ICSs—the new regional commissioning bodies in England—should also be accountable for “local system operational failings” that arise from GP shortages, the conference said.Proposing the motion, Lisa Harrod-Rothwell, a GP from Westminster LMC, said general practice had borne the brunt of skewed government priorities, NHS policies, and system failings for many years.“We have suffered years of neglect through inadequate funding to accommodate changes in demographics and the increase in long term conditions; neglect through failure to contract safely with an adequate workforce plan for the…
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