The move was a further embarrassment for ministers, who are braced for a BMA offensive during the general election campaign. The association is preparing a patients' dossier showing the suffering caused in the NHS when doctors are forced to cut corners. GPs should do their utmost to fulfil the clinical aspects of the government's plan but stop taking time away from patient care to meet the associated requests for information. Dr Fradd said the government's NHS plan was raising patients' expectations about what GPs could deliver. We are seeking ways to reduce workload to give a better deal to the public.
Nobody can give consistently safe care in consultations lasting a national average of eight minutes.
You can't do a proper job for patients in that time. We have to find ways to reduce hours spent on work that is not relevant to patient care. The GPs' action follows a warning from Ian Bogle, the BMA chairman, that patients' safety was being put at risk because doctors did not have enough time for consultations. Consulting times are getting lower. I agree with Dr Bogle that rushed consultations and less time with patients increases the risk of mistakes being made.