Now DENTISTS join GPs and care homes in growing healthcare revolt against Labour’s Budget tax raid on business amid warning it could lead to cuts to NHS care_Nhy
Dentists have joined a major healthcare revolt over Labour’s tax-raising Budget with warnings that NHS care could suffer if they are not cut a break.
GPs and care homes have already raised concerns about plans to increase employer national Insurance Contributions (NICs) to 15 per cent.
The Government is to reimburse the NHS for the added cost for public sector workers.
But GPs and care homes are classified as private businesses contracted to provide a service and will have to cover the full cost. They have called for ‘urgent assurances’ from the Health Secretary that practices will be exempted from the hike.
It comes amid warnings that some surgeries will make staff redundant as a result of the change, while some care homes could be forced to close.
And today the British Dental Association joined them on the barricade. In a open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves they said that many dentists already provided NHS care at a loss.
‘Failure to soften this blow will push more of them closer to the brink or with no choice other than to move away from NHS provision,’ the BDA warned.
‘Make no mistake, these cost increases will have an impact on access to NHS dentistry.’
And British Medical Council (BMA) chairman Phil Banfield told Times Radio GPs needed urgent talks with Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
‘A small business that is not part of the public sector can reduce costs or increase prices, but effectively, GPs contract with a unique body, ie the government, so that the price is fixed.
‘So the only way to absorb costs is to reduce the number of staff and at a point at which you’re trying to increase the number of appointments and increase access have more GPs and nurses. This achieves the complete opposite.’
Today the British Dental Association joined them on the barricade. In a open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves they said that many dentists already provided NHS care at a loss.
British Medical Council (BMA) chairman Phil Banfield told Times Radio GPs needed urgent talks with Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
GPs and care homes are classified as private businesses contracted to provide a service and will have to cover the full cost of the NICs increase
Ms Reeves announced the tax hike on Wednesday, with organisations representing care homes and hospices voicing concerns about the sector’s ability to plug the funding gap.
There have also been concerns about the impact on GP surgeries, with one practice manager suggesting it could cost about £40,000 a year.
The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) said it has contacted Wes Streeting, seeking assurances that practices will be protected like ‘the rest of the NHS and public sector’.
College chairwoman Professor Kamila Hawthorne said: ‘We are writing to the Health Secretary today asking for urgent assurances that GP practices will be given the same protection as the rest of the NHS and public sector and receive the necessary funding to cover these additional costs.
‘We have very serious concerns about the impact of the increase in national insurance employer contributions on GP practices right across the country, many of whom are already struggling to keep their doors open and make ends meet due to historic chronic underfunding.
‘They are working their hardest to provide quality care for their patients against a backdrop of significant budget constraints and staffing challenges – and this added level of insecurity will only compound these pressures.
‘For some, this extra financial burden will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, forcing them to make tough decisions on redundancies or even closing their practice, and ultimately it is our patients who will bear the brunt.’
Downing Street suggested GP surgeries could receive extra support later in the year.
A No 10 spokeswoman said contracted workers, including GPs, were not eligible for an exemption from the NICs hike, which she said was consistent with the approach of previous governments.
‘There is a general process whereby departments, the Department of Health for example, confirm their funding for general practices,’ she said.
The spokeswoman added: ‘I think that’s part of the annual GP contract process. I believe that will take place later in the year.’
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper MP said: ‘The government must scrap this GP penalty immediately.
‘After years of the Conservatives disgraceful neglect, our primary care services are in crisis and this could push many to reduce the number of staff they employ or just decide to shut up shop.
‘Instead of investing in our GPs and their staff, the government has put more pressure on them in a move that will make it even harder for patients to see a GP when they need to.’
