GP surgeries are not match for goal: BMA

The problem will be raised at the BMA conference in Harrogate following week and a summit will be held with ministers on July 10.

The conference will also hear warnings that programs to open GP surgeries from 8am to 8pm seven days a week are “unaffordable and inappropriate in the context of financial austerity”.

The BMA has stated that basic practice is in crisis with reduced funding forcing some practices to close and health-related college students refusing to train as family members physicians. It has also warned that increasing workloads are pushing doctors into early retirement.

1000′s of GPs are even now practising in Victorian terraced houses, which are not match for 21st century medication, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the BMA’s GP committee said. He added: “The government is in denial. The rhetoric of moving hospital companies into the neighborhood hasn’t a hope with out the premises in the local community to house them.”

He added: “GP premises are fossilised … They are woefully inadequate and there has been no national investment.”

The preliminary results of a survey of GPs discovered:

 - Three in 5 practices say their medical professionals have to share consulting rooms, and of these, half say this restricts treatment method.

– More than two thirds feel their premises limit the GP companies and local community providers they can provide.

– A lot more than half of respondents have not witnessed significant refurbishment to their premises since 2004.

The CQC began inspecting GPs for the first time last 12 months and identified the buildings to be a major problem. One practice was not permitted to register with the CQC to legally treat patients right up until it offered doors to its consultation rooms. Another had to use a Portacabin for further space.

A Department of Health spokesman said NHS England was prioritising applications for funding at the moment.

She stated: “GPs agreed to be at the heart of our radical ideas for a lot more personalised community care.

“This was in return for cutting their targets by much more than a third to free of charge up more time with individuals.

“GP premises must be match to help provide a single seamless support for the elderly and most vulnerable.”

GP surgeries are not match for goal: BMA