Should all GPs become NHS employees?

Yes—Azeem Majeed

It’s time that NHS general practitioners became NHS employees to end the anomaly that left GPs and their staff independently employed when the NHS was created in 1948.1

Currently, two main types of GPs work in the NHS: independent contractors (GP partners) and salaried employees. An increasing proportion of GPs are salaried employees rather than self employed independent contractors: about 28% (10 063/35 586) of GPs in England were salaried in 2015 compared with just 4% in 2002 (1085/29 202).2 3 However, salaried GPs are rarely employed by the NHS; generally, they are employed by other GPs or commercial companies.

A recent survey of 573 GP partners by Pulse magazine found that 51% would become salaried for the right deal.4 The employment contracts of salaried GPs vary hugely, and they often have worse terms than doctors employed by the NHS—for example, less maternity leave or sick leave provision. Salaried GPs would therefore benefit from a transfer to NHS employment contracts, as would GPs who are currently self employed.