According to a recent survey carried out by GPOnline, over half (55%) of GP partners believe that their practice is less financially secure than it had been a year ago.
Just 6% of GP partners felt their practice was more financially secure, and 75% said that they had felt no positive impact from GP Forward View funding or from additional investment available through GP contracts.
Respondents blamed increased staff costs, recruitment problems, and a heavy workload as the reasons for concern, coupled with the need to spend time chasing multiple funding streams.
Following these concerns many GPs have decided to take on locum work instead of becoming a practice partner or change career entirely. Over 1,800 GPs left the profession in the two years to September 2018.
One GP respondent said: “We struggle to pay our staff for the work that they do. We compete for funding in winter with commercial pharmacies for flu vaccine payments and lose out. We struggle to maintain the existing service and cannot provide more without significant extra funding to pay for it.”
Shortly after the GPOnline survey, the Department of Health & Social Care published its ‘NHS Long-term Plan’, which included a pledge to increase funding for primary and community care by £4.5 billion by 2023/24.
If you want to know more about this then our team can help with forecasting, budgeting and cashflow. Our expertise within accounting, taxation, financial planning and payroll allows us to deliver a holistic service.
If you are a GP partner or practice manager and you are concerned about your surgery’s financial future, please get in touch with our dedicated healthcare team. Email healthcare director Amy Park: apark@robson-laidler.co.uk or ring: 0191 281 8191.