Doctors count cost of cuts

A powerful body says that a cut of approximately 10,000 per practice will likely result in: job losses; cuts to services; increased A&E waiting times; increased admissions to hospital; cuts to the treatment of diabetes, heart disease and stroke; and patients having to stay longer in hospital.

Londonderry GP Dr Tom Black and deputy-chairman of the BMA's General Practitioner Committee in Northern Ireland said: "I have been inundated by family doctors from across Northern Ireland who are angry, dismayed and disappointed at this cut to frontline services.

"Minister McGimpsey has repeatedly promised to protect frontline health services. If general practice and the services it provides isn't a frontline service then I don't know what is. Patients are going to suffer."

A total of 3.6 million has been withdrawn by the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) from 1 August. While discretionary budgets have been targeted and the HSCB can legally do so, the BMA is warning that these cuts are short-sighted and will ultimately result in higher costs for the health service as a whole.

Dr Black continued: "This cut to practice funding will decrease the ability of GPs and their staff to maintain the services that patients expect.

"General practice is already under severe pressure and instead of being able to take on much needed additional staff, many practices are looking at reducing staff numbers or cutting working hours.

"GPs want to provide as much treatment as possible to people in the community, but this cut may well result in an increase in hospital admissions and a decreased ability of practices to co-operate with schemes that allow shorter hospital stays, leading to increased costs to the health service."

Hospital doctors are also worried about the impact of this cut to funding. Magherafelt doctor Paul Darragh, Chairman of the BMA's Council in Northern Ireland, who works in the Mid Ulster hospital said: "Current health service policy aims to provide more care in community settings and primary care. General practice now provides many treatments that used to be carried out in hospitals in recent years, for example minor surgery, diabetic care and preventive treatment of heart disease and strokes. This is under threat.

"We will see higher attendances at already stretched A&E departments and an increase in acute admissions as a result of GPs being prevented from providing current services.

"Inpatient stays may be longer and the trend to discharge patients earlier after surgery would reverse, as the ability of GPs to provide the necessary support in the community is threatened."

The BMA said it is concerned that this cut is just the start, as "a number of other services including stroke care, treatment of minor injuries, smoking cessation and contraception have only been commissioned until the end of August".