Local healthcare workers delivered the petition signed by 16,000 people, urging the government to help practices with funding shortfalls, following the government decision to phase out the Minimum Practice Income Guarantee (MPIG) in April 2014. This supported practices in challenging circumstances. The BMA reported that NHS England conceded 98 practices will lose significant funding. A national plan to help practices under threat has not been put in place.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the BMA's GP committee, said: 'Practices are under real, sustained pressure from a combination of rising patient demand, declining funding and the government's desire to move more care into the community. Given this climate, many of the practices that are funded by MPIG can ill-afford to lose this vital funding stream.'