The British Medical Association (BMA) has issued a bizarre press briefing declaring the UK’s GPs a ‘critically endangered species’.
The BMA has claimed that overwork is pushing many GPs, who earn more than £120,000 a year, to leave their jobs. He adds: “Fewer doctors now want to become GP partners because fewer doctors are responsible for more patients. »
The association also criticized new terms of the National Health Service (NHS) government contract, which ordered GPs to offer same-day consultations to patients with urgent medical needs from April this year.
The BMA has urged family doctors to act like pandas to avoid extinction.
Patient groups have criticized BMA for overreacting, saying: “People think of GPs as timid mice who run away every time you try to make an appointment. »
In a bizarre anecdote, BMA urged the government to act, enter into partnerships and increase the number of partners to stabilize the profession, noting that the giant panda had been removed from the WWF’s critically endangered species list due to successful breeding programs.
The five-page document says extinction can occur gradually or suddenly depending on conditions, adding that it occurs when the environment around the species becomes increasingly hostile.
Dennis Reed, director of elderly patients group Silver Voices, welcomed the new terms of the NHS contract, saying: “It is absolutely necessary that patients with urgent medical needs are seen on the same day. »
