General practitioners are requesting that their hours be reduced to 9 to 5, arguing that longer days discriminate against family-oriented physicians.
The family physicians, who earn an average of £111,900 per year, argue that it is unfair to expect them to begin or end their shifts earlier or later than “most other jobs.”
This month, at the annual conference of England’s local medical committees, representatives will vote on the proposals and, if approved, could lobby NHS England for the changes.
Monday through Friday, the current standard business hours are 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The GPs assert that other physicians would provide after-hours coverage.
The motion will be voted on by elected GPs at the local medical committees’ annual conference in England (LMCs).
Recognized as the professional organization representing individual GPs and GP practices as a whole, the statutory body is the recognized representative of GPs.
Its viewpoint contributes to the formation of British Medical Association policy and negotiations with NHS England about GP contracts, with a new contract slated for April 2024.
According to a proposal filed to the conference by Gateshead and Tyneside LMC, core hours are a “relic of the past.”
It requests that delegates take note that “they total 52,5 hours per week, beginning and ending earlier and later than the majority of other jobs, including child care.”
It continues, ‘They discriminate implicitly against GPs who wish to have families.
Due to the patriarchal structure of English society, this discrimination primarily impacts female general practitioners.
The proposal, which was first published by the GP publication Pulse, calls for hours to be reduced to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. but allows practices to start earlier or stay open later on “certain days” to match local demand and staffing capacity.
Surgeries are generally expected to provide a comprehensive service during core hours, albeit with some flexibility to accommodate local demand.
Some also use additional NHS funds to provide extended services, including earlier opening and closing hours.
In March of this year, a UK-wide conference of general practitioners voted against reducing core hours, with delegates stating that it should be a concern for individual states.
It follows research from earlier this year indicating that more than half of family physicians will work six or fewer sessions per week in 2021, with each session lasting four hours and ten minutes.
The University of Manchester researchers found that, on average, doctors worked 6.3 sessions per week, which is less than the 2019 average of 6.6.
And the average number of hours worked per week reached a record low of 38.4 hours.
GPs refute accusations that they work part-time hours, stating that their hours extend far beyond their sessions and that those who work fewer sessions spend their leftover time in other areas of the NHS.
