NASGP News Archive

29/12/98
New revised BMA Rates now available

The long awaited replacement rates of pay for non-principals has finally been published. You can find the new rates (now known as "Fees for Medical Services in General Practice") here together with a report on the work that has gone into preparing the new rates by Peter Harvey.

24/11/98
Conference '98 Report

Tima Ambury has written a report on the NASGP National Conference. It is available at the Conference '98 Report page and also in Acrobat pdf format 48kb.

12/11/98
Conference '98 Feedback

A summary of the questionnaires from the recent NASGP National Conference giving valuable feedback is now available both from the Conference '98 Feedback page and also in Acrobat pdf format 38kb.

19/10/98
Primary care groups and the NHS Executive, part 2

A reply to Richard Fieldhouse's letter to the NHS Executive regarding the role of non-principals in primary care groups has been received 77kb and a press release from the NASGP following this letter is also available 14kb.

11/10/98
Autumn Newsletter now available

The Autumn Edition of The Non-Principal is now available and can also be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat pdf format 77kb for easier viewing and printing.

5/10/98
Primary Care Groups and the NHS Executive

Richard Fieldhouse has written to Richard Armstrong at the NHS Executive about two issues: the role of non-principals in primary care groups 10kb and the potential increase in demand for locums as a result of primary care groups 9kb.

19/9/98
Local Groups

The Local Groups section has been updated. There are now a total of 61 local Non-Principal groups.

9/9/98
Primary Care groups

A press release containing advice to Non-Principals on their role in Primary Care Groups is now available 8kb.

16/8/98
Nomination of Members for NASGP Council 1998-199

A press release about the first NASGP elections is now available 6kb.

1/7/98
Summer newsletter now available

The Summer 1998 edition of the NASGP newsletter is now available on this web site and NASGP members should also shortly be receiving their copies by post.

30/6/98
Local groups now total 56

The number of local non-principal groups has steadily risen over the past year to an all time record of 56, including 12 new additions in the past three months. Details of all these local groups can be found on this web site.

9/6/98
NASGP Conference latest news

Arrangements are finally in place for the 1st national conference of the NASGP, to be held in Norwich over the weekend of 24th and 25th October. Initial interest in the 220 places available has been overwhelming, and even before advertisements appear in the GP Press or on post-graduate notice boards, we have sent out 450 application packs today.

If you requested the packs when you rejoined this year, a pack is on it's way to you, but if you haven't asked already, please email the conference co-ordinator Peter Harvey or write to NASGP Conference, Freepost SCE5376, PO Box 188, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 2YP. But be quick, we will probably sell out before the end of the summer.

20/5/98
Launch of the NASGP Code of Good Practice

The NASGP is pleased to announce the publication of its Code of Good Practice, endorsed by the Council of the Royal College of General Practitioners.

The NASGP has been concerned that there are a number of non-principals and principals whose conduct is not befitting of their profession. Such behaviour restricts the ability to deliver a high quality service to patients and tarnishes the impression of non-principals and practices as a whole. The NASGP seeks to distance itself from such behaviour and to promote Good Practice. To this end we have designed the NASGP Code of Good Practice, a statement of expectations and standards that we believe will improve relationships between non-principals, principals, and practice staff, and raise the quality of the service delivered to patients.

The Code covers the following areas:

• Core principles that affect all doctors
• The recognition of non-principals’ value as providers of medical services
• Responsibilities of non-principals and of practices
• Some principles around terms and conditions of employment
• Some expectations for non-principal’s postgraduate education

At the launch NASGP Chairman Dr Richard Fieldhouse, a locum in Chichester said: " I am pleased to announce the publication of the Code. This is a way for good doctors to stand out. We encourage individual non-principals, non-principal groups and practices to formally adopt and publicise the Code. Lazy, ineffective non-principals and disorganised unrealistic practices will have to change their ways or risk becoming isolated from accepted standards of practice".

Dr Shaun O’Connell, former chair of the NASGP’s Code of Good Practice Taskgroup said: "I am delighted that the Royal College gave its full support for the Code. This is a demonstration of both organisations’ determination to co-operate and be inclusive, for the benefit of patients and our members. We readily acknowledge that the Code is not detailed or comprehensive but if all parties adopt its principles we believe this will have a major impact on relationships between practices and non-principals and will significantly improve patient care".

A copy is being sent to all NASGP members (with the generous help of Schwarz Pharma). Comments about the Code are welcome: Please place them on this web site’s discussion forum.

Click here to view the Code or click here to download it in Microsoft Word format.

15/5/98
Pensions for locums

A landmark meeting took place at BMA house on 5th May between representatives from NASGP superannuation task group, BMA Private Fees Committee, BMA superannuation committee, BMA superannuation department, pensions department of NHSE, and Confederation of Health Authorities.

The NHSE had already conceded to the NASGP that it accepted the principle of allowing locums into the scheme after we successfully lobbied the director of Primary Care in March. This latest meeting, based on the NASGP's and BMA's proposals successfully produced a consensus on how it could all be administered, and many of the NASGPs' suggestions were adopted. We are waiting for a final answer from the NHSE and an implementation date. The following is a brief summary of the proposals, which carry the support of the NASGP.

• Any doctor legally eligible to practice as a GP would be eligible to contribute.
• An individual locum may voluntarily "opt in", by registering with a Health Authority (probably the one in which he/she resides)
• Full scheme benefits (as well as pension) to apply from the date of initial registration.
• Locums will carry customised forms countersigned by employing principals, documenting their gross earnings per period of work, or be able to append countersigned invoices.
• Every quarter, Locums tot up their GMS earnings and multiply by 69.1%,(to turn gross pay into net pay) and then calculate 6% of this. They send their form and a cheque for this amount to the HA, which will pass it on to the Pensions HQ with another 4%. DoH officials will have the right to spot check the validity of these earnings, and their accuracy is the responsibility of the locum.
• Backdated pensionable earnings will be based on declared net income for the months from 1.9.97 to the date the scheme goes live (subject to statutory limits on allowable pension contributions), Locums will send a single payment cheque which will be backed by 4% direct from DoH.
• Because some of the work we do is not superannuable , such as co-op duties, deputising and small amounts of private work, we won't have to abandon any PPP's that we already have.

15/5/98
Fees: BMA rates

Members of the BMA/NASGP fees working group met in May, and have prepared a complete re-drafting of the "BMA rates". This needs to be approved by individual working group members, amended accordingly, and ratified by BMA Council. This means that we are on target for publication by the autumn. The draft proposals are "fair enough" in our opinion, and we are optimistic that we will be able to support the final draft. Members are thanked for their patience shown on this matter so far this year.

18/4/98
New membership application form

There is now a revised application form available for downloading from the membership page. Please use this new form in place of older versions as it includes the new membership fees.

11/3/98
Non-Principal of the Year Awards

Doctor, the weekly newspaper for GPs, is looking for innovative non-principals to compete for £5,000 in prizemoney and the prestigious title - Non Principal of the Year - one of the categories within the Doctor Awards 1998. The category sponsor is Healthcall and the judge is Professor Ruth Chambers, a non principal herself.  If you are interested in applying, please give the Editor Jane King a call on 0181 652 8741 asap. The closing date for entries is May 15th.  Doctor is looking for a shortlist of three top non-principals who will all be invited, along with their respective partners, to the medical event of the year - the Doctor Awards dinner at Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London on October 20th"

6/3/98
National Non-Principal Database

One of the greatest problems faced by medical organisations trying to help non-principals is the inability to identify this highly mobile group of GPs. As from July, the NASGP will be able to help certain medical organisations to identify local GP non-principals.

We will forward the contact details of our members to specified representatives of the Directors of Postgraduate GP Education, LMCs and health authorities. We intend to forward this data on a regular basis, for the sole use of these organisations. A small charge will be made for this service to cover costs, though it is hoped that, with an increasing membership, we may be able to offer this service for free. We will be writing soon to all such organisations to give further details.

6/3/98
First National Conference

We are holding our first national conference on the weekend of 24th and 25th October 1998 in Norwich. Considerable effort is being made to keep attendance fees as low as possible in order to allow as many non-principals as possible to attend. The aim of the conference is to provide a forum for GP non-principals and interested principals from across the country to share skills and ideas by participating in a wide choice of up to twenty workshops to formulate personal and group solutions to working in general practice. A major conference address, a "soapbox" for members and a "question-time" event will all complement the strong emphasis on quality in general practice.

We hope that delegates will be able to seek some financial assistance from their local Directors for Postgraduate GP Education, and are keeping in contact with the directors on this matter. We will provide a crèche and supervised children's activities to enable non-principals with young families to attend together. There will be room for up to 150 delegates, and PGEA and Section 63 accreditation has been applied for. We expect the all-inclusive rate for NASGP members to be approximately £70. Offers of support will be warmly welcomed, and further details will be made available soon.

5/3/98
Growing Membership

Our membership has continued to grow, with over 1,000 GP non-principals and 50 non-principal support groups having now joined the NASGP in our first year.

1/3/98
Pension options for GP non-principals

Mark Horsey, postgraduate lecturer in financial planning, encourages all locums to reduce their tax bill by making tax deductible pension contributions. Click on the title above to view an article by him on pension planning or click here to download the article as a Microsoft Word file.

28/2/98
Our first bestseller! The Yellow Book

The NASGP handbook for non-principals has gone to the printers. Editor Shaun O'Connell, a founder member of the NASGP and now a part time principal in Leeds, has expressed his huge relief that after months of work the book will soon be available for members. 'We have a Red Book and a Green Book in General Practice, I hope the NASGP handbook will become known as the 'Yellow Book' -  especially as yellow is alleged to signify happiness! The past year has seen so much change many parts of the book have needed re-writing but I hope it is going to be useful for both established non-principals and for registrars finishing their training, and being a non-principal before deciding on further career pathways'.

The book contains chapters about all the different types of non-principal posts, about the established organisations in general practice, postgraduate education, business and personal finance, research in general practice and computers in general practice. The are also contact details for many of the local non-principal groups, information on how to set up a group and examples of what to do once you've got one!

The NASGP will issue the phone number that members can call when the book is available to receive their copy. We are grateful to the West Midlands NHS Executive who supported the writing of the book and the Medical Defence Union who have sponsored its publication and distribution.

25/2/98
BMA rates of pay: significant increase in sight

Successful negotiations between Peter Harvey of the NASGP and the BMA's Private Fees Committee has resulted in the committee agreeing to set up a working party to review non-principal rates of pay. Dr Harvey will be presenting evidence that fees need to rise between 10 and 25% to counteract the current low income and high expenses that most non-principals face. However, any decision will come too late for the annual review of BMA rates due on 1 April. The NASGP have campaigned at great length to have the BMA rates of pay reviewed: they have long been considered not only too low but ambiguous and not representative of the work most non-principals do.

NASGP News Archive

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