Mword Issue 113: Dr Michelle Drage’s message on our new live event and more

13 May 2024

Dear Colleague,

Today I have this for you:

1. Join us at “After the Referendum – Our Future, Our Say, Our Way” in Euston on Thursday 13 June 12.30-4:00pm
2. London GPs WhatsApp group
3. London leadership
4. Get involved

1. Join us at “After the Referendum – Our Future, Our Say, Our Way” in Euston on Thursday 13 June 12.30-4:00pm
   This double bill event will be free, LIVE and in-person at The Light at Friends House, Euston.

   The profession voted loud and clear in the BMA referendum, and now it is time to consider what happens next. With keynotes from GPCE Chair Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer and Deputy Chair Dr Julius Parker, this is your opportunity to listen, ask questions, and contribute on behalf of you and your practice for your future.

   PlusThe event will also include our own Londonwide LMCs mini-conference presenting the latest evidence, guidance and support for you and your practice on safe working, delivered by Dr Lisa Harrod-Rothwell, Deputy CEO of Londonwide LMCs.

   Register now. This event will be chaired by me, as CEO of Londonwide LMCs, and is open to all London GPs, GP Registrars, Practice Nurses and Practice Managers in every London borough.

   We all share and experience the daily worry about practitioner and patient safety as we near breaking point because we are unable to provide the care we are trained for and want to provide.

   We all know that current and inappropriate workload demand and lack of investment in the core role of general practice is turning retention and recruitment from a problem into a daily crisis of spiralling attrition.

   And we can all see where the Government’s derisory imposed contract, and the hand to mouth dependence on transactional enhanced services that they and their management consultants have engendered, is heading after a decade of systematic defunding of the core of general practice. Core being the very part that delivers the continuity that provides so much unquantifiable value to patients, their families and the NHS.

   Now is the time for us to come together, reflect on the dire circumstances we are facing, and to stand firm and together to stand-up for ourselves, our staff, and our patients.

   Join us on 13 June – Register now.

2. London GPs WhatsApp group
   If you haven’t already done so, you may wish to join the London GPs group – just follow this link from the phone where you have your WhatsApp account and join the group, where your elected GPC England London representatives can share information.
3. London leadership
   With the May elections concluded and Sadiq Khan re-elected as Mayor of London for a further term, we are committed to making the case for general practice at every opportunity. At a time when Londoners are using GPs and GP services more than ever before across the Capital, demand continues to outstrip the capacity of our hardworking general practice teams to meet it.

   We need more GP surgeries included in new build projects so that already swamped services don’t drown; we need effective scrutiny and advocacy to ensure that the needs and concerns of patients and community providers are taken seriously; and we need more infrastructure that encourages and supports active lifestyles and tackles the inequalities that can lead to and exacerbate mental and physical ill-health. Read my comment here.

4. Get involved
   – stay safe
   A reminder that the BMA has issued clear guidance on your contractual obligations to be accessible to patients and, crucially, what you can do if you are challenged by your commissioner. Again, I urge all GPs and practice managers to read this guidance which includes “protecting patients and clinical staff from the risks of decision fatigue, clinical errors, patient harm and clinician burnout by limiting clinical contacts to no more than 25 per day for each GP, and any excess demand beyond this being signposted to other settings such as 111, overflow hubs or urgent treatment centres”. This list is not exhaustive.

   Our GP Professional Support Network is also there for you if you are struggling with aspects of your working life.

   – highlight the pressure you are under
   The General Practice Alert State reporting system, which we are currently rolling out in London, highlights the pressures on general practice across the Capital in real time. By answering just six questions each week you can give us valuable, high quality, data to evidence the challenges you face and to change the narrative from individual practices being to blame for patients struggling to get appointments, to the more accurate reasoning that pressures on general practice are due to system-wide problems. If you haven’t already signed up, you can do so here.

   – help tell the story of London general practice
   We use data from our regular workforce surveys and elsewhere whenever we can, but human stories are far more impactful than data and we need people working in general practice to tell your story and show the people behind the jobs in general practice. These human stories help us to get media coverage, illustrate issues when meeting with local MPs and opinion formers, and create online campaigning resources. Anyone in the practice team can take part in these activities, as long as you can speak clearly about your work, what you do, and how that affects patient care. Our communications team can tell you more.

Please do share this MWord with your practice colleagues. As ever, I welcome your feedback at mword@lmc.org.uk. And do know that the team of experts and leaders here at Londonwide LMCs are here for you and by your side.

With best wishes

Dr Michelle Drage MBBS FRCGP
CEO, Londonwide LMCs