Collective action by GPs in Rutland and Leicester is compounding 'a difficult winter' a health boss has said.

Director of urgent and emergency care for the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board Julie Frake-Harris made the comments at Rutland County Council's scrutiny committee meeting last night (Thursday, November 28), when asked by Coun Lucy Stephenson (Con): "Why this winter is so particularly bad compared to other winters?"



The Health Board scrutiny meeting at Rutland County Council (Photo: Rutland County Council)

The Leicestershire and Rutland health system had to call a critical incident last month and this week the medical director at the area's integrated care board Dr Nilesh Sanganeen warned the system is very nearly in a critical situation again.

Julie Frake-Harris told the councillors gathered at the Rutland council headquarters in Oakham that the demand had been 'unprecedented'.

"As you know, we cycle in health care and we normally have a lull over the summer and it feels as though we didn't have that in the same way. I think supporting our colleagues in primary care, our GP colleagues, to be able to express their right to collective action has started to have a compounding effect and we wonder whether that's brought a level of winter stress forward," she said.

She said more work was needed to determine whether there is a direct correlation but added: "We have absolutely seen an increase in the footfall of patients who interestingly have not needed a direct intervention from emergency departments."

She said this year they had stepped up a different response to escalation.

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Cllr Stephenson said the increase in people trying to access emergency care showed the push on directing residents to pharmacists 'clearly was not working'.

In August, GPs voted to work to rule after a ballot by the British Medical Association. The BMA recommended 10 protocols including limiting the number of patients seen each day to 25.

Many GPs say the current system is broken and are unhappy with the current year's financial contract, which they say is not sufficient. Just over 6 per cent of the NHS budget goes to GPs.