Many of you will have seen the recent claims from NHS England that ending half-day closures could save more than 280,000 GP appointments a year. The GPC responded promptly and publicly stating that as we know, GP practices are working hard to deliver the best possible services with the resources available as they strive to meet the growing needs of their patients. In many cases, GPs not only work long hours during the day but also deliver services out-of-hours and with many doctors also working evenings and weekends. GP practices want to deliver the best for their communities but with significant workforce shortages, and a failure of NHS England to invest in much needed premises and IT infrastructure, it's left GPs under greater pressure than ever before.

NHS leaders must therefore work to address the ongoing recruitment and retention crisis rather than devoting time and effort to threatening GPs with a reduction in funding which will only undermine morale further. We need long term commitment and support to bring about lasting improvement to patient care and avoid putting overworked doctors under further strain.