Elderly patients will be unable to fight for GP appointment during strikes, warns top A&E doctor

The average GP now has 37 patient contacts daily, according to the British Medical Association
The average GP now has 37 patient contacts daily, according to the British Medical Association - Pascal Deloche/Stone RF

Elderly and vulnerable patients are at risk from industrial action by GPs, Britain’s most senior A&E doctor has warned.

Dr Adrian Boyle, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, spoke out amid concern that casualty units could become flooded with cases as GP practices cap the number of patients they will see.

Dr Boyle said he was “very anxious” about the impact of the collective action by GPs, which the British Medical Association (BMA) has said aims to bring the NHS “to a standstill”.

He said his greatest concern was for the most vulnerable patients, who were likely to give up if they had to fight to be seen.

Dr Boyle told The Telegraph: “The danger is that it is the most vulnerable who are most excluded - the elderly, those with dementia, people with learning disabilities, those who are least able to advocate for themselves.”

The BMA said 98.3 per cent of the 8,500 GPs voting were in favour of industrial action
The BMA said 98.3 per cent of the 8,500 GPs voting were in favour of industrial action - Stefan Rousseau/PA

On Thursday, the BMA announced that GPs had voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action, with immediate effect.

The BMA said 98.3 per cent of the 8,500 GPs voting were in favour of the measures.

Doctors have been told they can “pick and choose” from measures designed to wreak chaos across the health service.

They include a cap on the number of appointments, meaning practices could turn away record numbers of patients, heaping pressures on 111 and A&E.

Health chiefs have warned that such a move could prove “catastrophic”, with pharmacists expecting a “significant surge” of patients who have been refused help by their GP.

‘We are very anxious’

Dr Boyle said: “We are very anxious about what might happen, we just don’t know what will happen.”

Practices have been told they can “pick and choose” from measures designed to wreak chaos across the health service, meaning the situation could vary wildly across the country.

Dennis Reed, of Silver Voices, a campaign group for the over-60s, said he was concerned that the elderly and “less sharp-elbowed” patients could end up giving up in their search for help.

He said: “A lot of older people don’t like to pester their GPs anyway and my concern is that those with the weakest voices miss out. They don’t like to make a fuss.”

“A lot of our members say it is already impossible to see a GP if you need to see one quickly - there are waits of weeks, now it could stretch to months.”

Patients will be diverted to 'local urgent care settings' such as 111 or walk-in clinics
Patients will be diverted to 'local urgent care settings' such as 111 or walk-in clinics - Ollie Millington/Getty Images Europe

“Older people may be less likely to be sharp elbowed than younger patients and my concern is that with fewer appointments to go round, more and more of those who need the NHS most will give up.”

Two in three GP members of the BMA voted in favour of the action.

The union said the impact of the measures would be a “slow burn” not a “big bang” as different surgeries will embark on different actions.

Family doctors are being asked to take part in up to nine forms of protest, including one which would put a cap on the number of daily “patient contacts” – which includes face-to-face appointments, remote consultations and messages – at 25 per GP.

This is a third less than the current workload, with the union saying the average GP now has 37 patient contacts daily.

Patients over the cap will be diverted to “local urgent care settings” such as 111 or walk-in clinics when the total is hit.

Other measures include refusing to co-operate with standard NHS systems, such as those used to refer patients to hospital specialists, or to share data with local health planners.

GPs have embarked on industrial action because they say the current system is underfunded.

But the Department of Health and Social Care said GPs had been balloted at the point when the GP contract was due to rise by 1.9 per cent, saying the pay uplift for 2024/25 would now be rising by 6 per cent.

‘Broken’ NHS

Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chairman of the BMA’s GP committee, said: “Many doctors agree that our elderly and more vulnerable patients are the ones facing greatest risk in a broken NHS. As GPs we will continue to carefully triage all our patient requests to make sure we prioritise care for those most in need, and those patients we often see multiple times each week to try to keep them at home, safely out of hospital.

“Recent years have seen imposed contracts from NHS England where online triage has become compulsory and GPs have long voiced concern for our patients who do not own smartphones, and who cannot navigate such complicated routes to access healthcare. For these patients we need more GP surgeries, with more GP and practice nurse staff, friendly faces known to the community to be able to offer the care they need.

“What this cohort wants to receive, and what family doctors as a profession want to provide, are the same. Yet we have seen over 1,300 practices lost in the past decade and an erosion of continuity of care. This is exactly what is behind our action, to those patients I wish to reassure them and say GPs are on your side.

An NHS England spokesman said: “Practices remain open during this collective action, and it is vital that the public – and especially those that are elderly or frail – seek care in the normal way if they’re unwell.

“The NHS is monitoring the impact of the action on patients and where needed will introduce mitigations which could include increased support in community services.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “Since the BMA balloted, the Government has accepted the independent pay review body recommendation of a 6 per cent uplift in GP pay and has committed to hiring an extra 1,000 GPs.

“We are asking GPs not to close the door on patients, and instead work with this Government to rebuild the NHS.

“NHS England has preparations in place to ensure patient safety is protected and we urge all patients to continue to come forward as usual for care during collective action by GP services.”