Locum GP shortage in Northern Ireland leaves out of hours services understaffed and rural partners unable to take leave, BMA says

Abstract

A shortage of locum GPs in Northern Ireland has left out of hours services understaffed and rural GPs unable to take leave, the BMA’s General Practitioners Committee for Northern Ireland (NIGPC) has said. Tom Black, the chairman of the NIGPC, said that GPs at the Northern Ireland local medical committees’ conference in Newcastle last weekend had voted against calls for the NIGPC to walk away from discussions with the government on out of hours services. Speaking after the conference he said that GPs at the conference were concerned about the provision of out of hours care. …