Disruption to surgeries across Cumbria could be on the way after GPs across England have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking collective action.

More than 8,500 GPs in England took part in the ballot and 98.3 per cent voted in favour of taking part in one or more examples of collective action.

This means the BMA will encourage practices to choose from a list of ten actions, and practices can choose to implement as few or as many as they think appropriate.

Actions may include refusing to share patient data unless it’s in the best interests of a patient and limiting the number of appointments a day to 25.

Despite warning the Government that they’re being forced to do more with less, GPs have been ‘repeatedly ignored’ say the BMA and not given the funding they need to handle growing pressures.

Of the entire NHS budget, general practices get only 6 per cent of guaranteed funding. The BMA’s GPC England Committee believes this needs to gradually increase by 1 per cent year on year, to 15 per cent.

GP surgeries in Cumbria have been under ‘severe strain’ as they struggle to cope with the increased demand since the pandemic with some surgeries reporting that they are having to carry out 20 per cent more appointments than pre Covid.

A Carlisle GP this year wrote a book called ‘Why can’t I see my GP’ which highlighted the problems faced by general practice.

A recent report published by the Lancashire and Cumbria Consortium of Local Medical Committees says that the financial pressures faced by GP surgeries in Cumbria is 'alarming’.

The report seeks to highlight the problems felt by GPs which has led to more than 200,000 people in Cumbria being signed up to GP practices which are 'at risk’.

"The future of general practice, collectively and individually, is at stake here,” said the report.

“If action and serious attention is not given to this pressing issue, there is a very real possibility of mass practice closures and patients finding that access to a GP will worsen significantly."

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Health Secretary, Wes Streeting said: "I can totally understand why GPs would want to punish the previous Conservative government, but this action, if it goes ahead, will only punish patients.

"The Conservatives already got their kicking at the general election and we now have a Labour government that's really committed to working with GPs to rebuild general practice so that people can get a GP appointment when they need one."