According to the British Medical Association (BMA), some GP practices are facing a ‘financial cliff edge’. This is because of inadequate information about funding and because they have been unable to access reprieve funding under the Minimum Practice Income Guarantee (MPIG) transition programme, which provides vital cash support for vulnerable practices.

The Association has written to NHS England detailing its concerns. A BMA spokesman said that they have set up an urgent meeting with NHS England at which they will ask the organisation to ‘honour its commitment’ to not drastically reduce ‘critical funding’ to GP practices in ‘challenging circumstances’, which need additional resources to deliver vital GP services.

He added that the BMA’s GP Committee has repeatedly warned NHS England about the devastating impact that rapid MPIG withdrawal would have on patient services. The spokesman added that the Association was concerned at reports of practices being unclear about their eligibility and the accuracy of data being used to calculate losses, which could be denying practices the crucial support they need.

The MPIG was introduced in 2004 to support some practices moving to the new general medical services (GMS) contract. However, last year the Government began the phasing out of the scheme, with NHS England providing short-term funding to vulnerable practices; many of which serve some of the country’s most deprived communities. Currently, more than 400 GP practices face being affected by the withdrawals.

One such practice in East London has said that the doctors there want proper data to be used when funding is calculated for practices that are likely to be badly affected by the changes to the scheme.

Meanwhile, Pulse magazine has begun a campaign to stop practice closures and is calling on the Government to implement emergency support for those at risk of closure and to overhaul funding and workforce strategies to allow stable, long-term growth.