Dr Richard Vautrey, the chair of BMA’s GP Committee, will step down later in the month
The GP who was leading industrial action against face-to-face appointments quit his position at the doctors’ union last night.
Dr Richard Vautrey, the chair of BMA’s General Practitioners Committee, will step down later in the month.
His resignation came as a result of ballots being sent to GP practices across England to ask if they were willing to take industrial action.
Dr Vautrey, a Leeds-based GP, led the left-wing union’s revolt against Government plans to force family physicians to see more patients in person.
Moderate doctors, MPs, and patient groups have condemned his stance on face to face appointments as ‘tone deaf’.
Friday was Friday when Dr Vautrey reiterated that the BMA would not accept plans for industrial action to’reverse the unsustainable burden’ on GPs.
He accused the Government of ‘adding to the fire’ by telling doctors that they should increase the number face-to-face appointments.
Recent figures show that four out of ten GP appointments in England were not being completed face-to-face this September. In comparison, more than nine out of ten appointments in the same period two year ago were done in person.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid last month unveiled a £250million package of measures to get patients more face-to-face appointments, including a controversial proposal to name and shame underperforming surgeries.
Recent figures show that four out of ten GP appointments are still not being completed face-to-face as of September. Comparatively, nine out of ten GP appointments were made in person in the same timeframe two years ago.
Despite his militant rhetoric of recent weeks, Dr Vautrey’s surprise resignation announcement last evening did not mention the recent row regarding patient access.
He stated that he had decided that the first meeting of the delayed annual session was the best time to appoint a new chair. A new chair and the team must be given the chance to plan for a new contract, as we are approaching the fourth year of our current five year agreement.
Yesterday, the BMA launched a indicative ballot of GPs in England asking if they are in favor of industrial action in four areas.
These include refusing ‘naming & shaming’ practices that don’t improve face to face access.
They will also be asked if they will refuse to comply with rules on ‘pay transparency’, which would mean GPs earning over £150,000 are named.
They will also be voted on whether to refuse to supervise medical exemptions for those who are unable to get vaccinated. This, they claim, has increased their workload and opened them up to abuse.
The ballot closes on November 14, and could open the door to the first industrial action of doctors since the strike by junior doctors five years ago.
Patients, MPs and moderate physicians all urged BMA to compromise with ministers in order to save millions of patients.
This comes as a major study has revealed that only three percent of doctors believe remote consultations are more beneficial for patients than face to face appointments.
Cambridge University researchers concluded that many patients are being affected by the shift to video and telephone appointments.
Online consultations were deemed to increase the risk of misdiagnosis or barriers to care, and are especially harmful for the elderly and poor.
93% of doctors agree that remote appointments are more accurate than face-to-face visits for diagnosing and assessing illnesses.
In the first study of its kind, experts evaluated the NHS’s ‘rapid move towards telemedicine’ — video or phone appointments — during the pandemic.
Researchers surveyed 1,340 patients suffering from rheumatology, as well as more than 100 hospital consultations and doctors between April-July this year.
About a third of the patients had inflammatory joint disease, and another third had the immune disorder Lupus. Many required regular appointments to manage flare-ups.
Telemedicine is viewed by 93% of doctors as less accurate than face to face consultations.
According to the study, a lack of in person examinations and tests led to misdiagnosis and inaccuracies being frequently reported.
Nine out of ten doctors said that phone and video consultations were ‘worse’ than face to face for building trusting relationships, while only three percent said they were more effective overall.