GP Collective Action and Protecting Our Patients
Dear Patients,
You may have seen reports in the media regarding national GP collective action starting in May 2026. We want to share what this means for our practice, why it is happening, and most importantly, how we are working to protect your care.
The Reality: An Unsustainable and Unsafe System
Across England, general practice is operating under crisis-level pressure. Over the last few years, the volume of work has grown exponentially. We are seeing more patients with increasingly complex needs, all while a significant amount of administrative and clinical workload is being shifted from hospitals onto local GP surgeries without the necessary funding or staff to support it.
Operating under these conditions is not just exhausting for our staff—it has become fundamentally unsafe. No medical system can safely manage unlimited, unresourced demand without eventually fracturing. The government’s newly imposed 2026/27 GP contract fails to provide the critical safeguards or funding required to make our surgeries sustainable.
We Know You Are Frustrated—And We Share That Frustration
We know exactly how difficult it has become to access NHS care. We hear how frustrating it is try and contact the hospital, to wait on the phone, to struggle to find a timely appointment, or to feel passed around by a system stretched to its absolute limit.
Please know this: Your frustration is entirely justified. But the root cause is not a lack of effort from our team; it is a chronically underfunded system being asked to do the impossible. We dislike having tell patients we are full just as much as you dislike hearing it.
To protect the very future of local GP surgeries, the British Medical Association (BMA) has called on practices to participate in safe, lawful collective action to highlight these unsustainable pressures to policymakers before it is too late.
What action is our practice taking?
The initial phase of collective action focuses on Data Transparency and Governance, which keeps the protest entirely behind the scenes.
As independent data controllers, we take our legal and ethical responsibility to protect your medical records incredibly seriously. From May 2026, we are pausing sign-ups to new voluntary “Data Sharing Agreements” that extract patient data for NHS secondary, non-direct care uses (such as commercial research or administrative system planning). We are also auditing our existing agreements to ensure your data is always used lawfully, proportionately, and with the utmost respect for your privacy and not as the NHS pleases.
Our Commitment: We Are Working Hard For You
Patient care remains our absolute priority. We are taking this action precisely because we want to preserve a safe, functioning NHS family doctor service for you and your family. Any data sharing required for your direct clinical care (such as referrals to hospitals or sharing info with A&E) will continue exactly as normal.
We are taking these steps to ensure that our practice can remain safe, open, and resilient for years to come. We deeply appreciate your understanding, patience, and ongoing support as we work to protect your local healthcare services.
