West Devon GPs have assured their patients they will continue to be safe under their care as they take part in work -to-rule action over their NHS contracts.

GPs throughout the country are taking the action under BM guidance to highlight issues with their contracts which they want changed to help patients see their doctors more easily.

NHS England says patients should ‘continue to come forward for care as practices will remain open’.

The GPs, from West Devon Primary Care Network (Abbey, Tavyside and Yelverton surgeries) stress they are not taking industrial action and therefore, are not going on strike, but are sticking to the requirements of their contracts, rather than taking on extra work beyond their contracts.

Jonathan Coe, practice manager for Tavyside Health Centre, speaks for the the network which is taking collective action. He said: “GP for years have been doing work that is not funded and not contracted due to gaps in commissioned services and pressures in secondary care services.

“They have been doing so out of concern for their patients and to ensure that they continue to receive the care they deserve. However, with chronic underfunding and increased demand it is no longer sustainable for GPs to continue working this way.  So, we’ll be focussing on the safety and stability of our service going forwards.”

He stressed: “Collective action is about working legitimately within our contracts. We will not be doing anything that compromises patients’ safety and we will not currently be going on strike. 

“West Devon Primary Care Network has decided to take part in this collective action as we believe our patients, deserve better. GPs want the same thing as our patients, and we believe nobody should struggle to see their family doctor. 

“The partners and management team are adamant patients continue to be our priority and all the points that have been recommended by the BMA have been carefully analysed to ensure that this collective action will have no negative impact on our patients.

We hope patients understand our reasoning for taking part in this collective action and that we are doing so with our patients’ best interests at heart.”