UK doctors may feel forced to quit the NHS if the UK Government pushes through its plans for them to work extra hours. Responding to a news article in Pulse magazine on the BMA’s impasse with Government on extended hours, Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the BMA’s GPs Committee, said:
“The British Medical Association (BMA) is not encouraging or even asking GPs to leave the NHS. We are fighting to preserve it.
“GPs care passionately about the NHS. They have great fears about the Government’s intent to introduce private firms into primary care which risks destroying the traditional model of UK general practice that is so highly valued and trusted by patients and admired across the world.”
“We are naturally looking at all the options if faced with an imposition1 by Government, including advising GPs of the consequences of leaving the NHS.”
The UK Government has recently rejected an offer made by the BMA to provide a way forward on extending surgery hours that would have seen longer opening hours and additional clinical services. Instead the Government has chosen to impose a solution that would not improve quality care and would take resources away from the patients who are most in need.
Source: British Medical Association, UK