Following the BMA ballot of GP contractors/partners which saw GPs across England vote overwhelmingly in favour of taking collective action, a weekly action tracker survey has been launched by the BMA.
The survey asks which ICB and LMC the respondent is part of, whether their practice is undertaking each type of action, and provides a space for further comment. Local LMCs are being asked to disseminate the survey to constituent practices and we would encourage all practices to complete it each week.
Surveys will be sent weekly with a deadline of 5:00pm the following Sunday for practices to complete. This process will repeat each week. These surveys should be completed by only one member of staff per practice. We would expect that in the majority of cases this would be the Practice Manager but it is for individual practices to identify the most appropriate member of staff to undertake this.
The local action tracker survey for Monday 5th August to Sunday 11th August can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BMA_GP_Action_Tracking_5-11Aug
Please respond to this survey by 5:00pm on Sunday 11th August 2024. Please be assured that no identifiable data will be created as a result of this survey.
The data collected will then be used to monitor the participation with the different types of action across the country, and as a lobbying tool to demonstrate the level of participation in collective action. These surveys will enable the BMA to identify areas of high and low participation with the action, best practice in areas of high participation and obstacles to participation in areas of low participation, along with what support is needed to enable participation by those who wish to participate.
Further information on the Collective Action and resources to support practices can be found below:
BMA Updates/Resources
- Press release dated 1st August 2024 GPs prepare to take collective action after overwhelming ballot result – BMA media centre – BMA
- There are a number of actions that practices can take to support a safe service for their patients and their practice team. The actions you choose may depend on your patients and local contracts. GPC England is not recommending which action(s) practices take. It is for each practice to pick and choose as they see fit. You can choose to start slowly and build incrementally or do all of them from day one as you wish. You do not need permission to do any of these actions. They are already permissible and will not result in contract breach. Full details can be found here
- “GPs Are On Your Side” campaign materials can be accessed here
NHSE National Messaging
- NHSE has produced a communications toolkit which aims to ensure clear and consistent messaging about the current collective action by GPs. A copy is attached below.
Media Enquiries
- The BMA has produced a crib sheet (below) outlining the BMA’s key messaging on it for GPs to refer to if needed and also the BMA’s press release https://www.bma.org.uk/bma-media-centre/gps-prepare-to-take-collective-action-after-overwhelming-ballot-result for information. If you hold a BMA position and are approached for an interview, please let the BMA media know before agreeing to do it, the teams email is: mediaoffice@bma.org.uk It is very important to distinguish between BMA interviews and any done in a personal capacity.
