UK family doctors vote for staging first industrial action in 60 years

Over 8.500 general practitioners in the United Kingdom agree to stage the first collective strike in 60 years over the lack of government funding, the British Medical Association (BMA) says.

It means family doctors will be able to pick and choose from a wide range of actions set out by BMA.

A total of 98.3% of the BMA members has voted in favor of taking to the streets, as well as limiting patient appointments, to ensure the rise in the UK budget for general practice, which is state-funded.

Doctors have said the action could last for “months” and could bring the National Health Service (NHS) to a “standstill very quickly” for NHS administration staff and politicians but not for patients, according to Sky News.

The options include:

• Limiting daily patients to 25 – about a third fewer than normal

• Stop engaging with the e-referral and guidance service, which allows GPs to seek advice from other clinicians

• Switching off NHS software that allows discounted or free prescriptions for some people

• Referring patients directly to specialist care rather than following more complex NHS processes

• Refusing to share patient data unless it is in the best interests of a patient

• Withdraw permission for data sharing agreements that use data for secondary purposes

• Defer making any decisions to accept NHS pilot programmes.

Each GP practice will pick and choose which one to implement, as they see fit.

They could start with one and add more incrementally or could do all of them from day one.

The previous such collective strike took place in 1964 when the government witnessed mass resignations of medics. The action resulted in several reforms, including the 1965 Charter of Family Doctors.