NHS doctors in England warn of new strike action

Following a five-day strike by resident doctors in England that ended on Wednesday, the nation's family doctors are now threatening to return to industrial action over the government's National Health Service, or NHS, reforms.

The family doctors, who are known as general practitioners, or GPs, have given ministers an eight-week ultimatum to address concerns about funding, insurance coverage, and their role in local healthcare reforms. The ultimatum was delivered by the GPs' leadership committee within the British Medical Association, or BMA, doctors' union.

The BMA has informed Health Secretary Wes Streeting it will consider industrial action during the winter unless GPs' demands are addressed, emphasizing growing frustration with existing NHS contracts and policy proposals.

GPs had previously conducted collective action last year regarding contract funding through which they implemented "work-to-rule" measures that included restricting daily patient appointments and in-person consultations.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that GPs are now demanding six specific conditions by mid-September, adding pressure to a government already facing the resident doctors' strikes over pay.

GPs are seeking to take charge of new community health hubs outlined in Streeting's 10-year health plan for England, alongside their demands for attention to contract reforms, funding certainty, workload relief, and policy clarity.

The government's health hubs plan aims to provide multiple services in one location, including same-day appointments and immediate dental care, though operational details remain unclear.

Family doctors have expressed "alarm" over hospital administrators' initial moves to position themselves at the center of these plans, leading the BMA to demand clarification on leadership roles.

Speaking to ministers, Katie Bramall-Stainer, the BMA's GP committee chair, described the profession as being at a "critical juncture".

She warned that the health hub initiative outlined by the government on July 3 could undermine "the traditional NHS partnership model of general practice".

"The current trajectory threatens the survival of the independent contractor model and, with it, NHS general practice and the trusted family doctor relationship our patients rely on and want to protect," she said.

There was "disappointment and confusion around the government's failure to explicitly commit or even mention the delivery of a new GMS (General Medical Service) contract within the plan's pages", she added.

The dispute could grow because other medical professionals, including resident doctors, consultants, and nurses, are all considering strike action later this year.

The threat from GPs coincided with Wednesday's end to the resident doctors strike, which prompted Streeting to tell union leaders their actions were "self-defeating" and had "a detrimental impact on patients, your members, your colleagues and the NHS".

Streeting said on Wednesday the BMA "will lose a war with this government", noting that the NHS is prepared to withstand an extended period of industrial action.

Making his strongest remarks yet about the resident doctors dispute in England, the health secretary pledged that the government would stand firm against their demand for a 29 percent salary increase. He urged the BMA to agree a deal, in which both sides would "win the peace".