Collective action punishes patients, Streeting to tell GPs

The health secretary will outline measures on cutting "red tape" and alleviating paperwork for GPs in a speech on Friday Wes Streeting, the UK Health Secretary, has urged GPs to end their collective action, warning that it primarily punishes patients rather than addressing the systemic issues within the NHS. His comments come in response to the British Medical Association's (BMA) recent vote, where 98.3% of 8,500 participating GPs supported collective action. This action could involve capping the number of daily patients and limiting tasks outside formal contracts. Streeting is calling for cooperation between GPs and the government to address the NHS's challenges, including hiring more GPs and reducing administrative burdens to allow doctors to focus on patient care.