Dr Katie Bramall

OpenSAFELY news: you can apply to do non-COVID research, from today! | Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science We are delighted to announce that - from today - you can submit applications to the OpenSAFELY service for non-COVID-19 studies.

OpenSAFELY is open from today! Huge thanks to all who supported this vast collaboration: whole population GP data; in a productive platform; innovative privacy protections; unprecedented support from professions, privacy campaigners; &c

Now it's over to users!

www.bennett.ox.ac.uk/blog/2026/02...

Our practice gets a minimum average of 44 online queries an hour on a Monday. 31 an hour the rest of the week We don’t have the resourcing to cope with this unless we cancel all other work. In the past two weeks we have had two sick babies put through on admin form. Despite our website saying don’t

GPs have done all they can to keep patients safe and provide as much as possible
1.4million people will consult today
Compare this with 67,000 in A&E

The reason for the concerns is we have a capacity problem & a funding crisis
The 8 am rush (it’s bad) will be replaced by the GP waiting list (worse)

Pls RT if you care about
- patient safety
- speaking truth to power
- want better access to your GP
- worry about future of NHS

GPs want to work WITH this govt
Talk to us!

@ShaunLintern @parthaskar @drlukeevans @Parody_RCGP @DailyMailUK @RoyLilley @doctor_oxford @bmj_latest

And so too support your ICBs & teams under huge pressure & redundancy threats to work WITH their practices again supporting patient safety

Again this is the need for co-production not top-down diktat

Trust your 6,331 neighbourhood health services = Your GP practices!

10/11

Pls, @wesstreeting @SKinnock

Let us talk

Let’s support your ambition but give us a guarantee that you won’t breach practices that are trying their best to deliver this

Get @NHSEngland to engage with @theHSSIB recommendations in interest of pt safety @PatientsAssoc

9/x

@Accurx @KlinikUK @TPP_SystmOne @econsult keen to work with practices to make this safe

@NHSEngland @DHSCgovuk why won’t you join us?

8/x

Patients deserve safe & quick access to their GP

Any economics student will explain if you need quick + safe, it won’t be cheap

But GP costs under £140 per pt per year - less than your pet insurance

Less than the cost of 🍎 a day!

& we know continuity of care saves lives

7/x

Patients deserve safe & quick access to their GP

Any economics student will explain if you need quick + safe, it won’t be cheap

But GP costs under £140 per pt per year - less than your pet insurance

Less than the cost of 🍎 a day!

& we know continuity of care saves lives

7/x

We lack the resources, capacity and capabilities to meet the needs of our patients if we can’t switch off online requests when we are full

Not to mention mandating we MUST contact the patient THAT SAME DAY no matter how many patients contact us 🤯

Not safe

6/x

Not just opinion of @BMA_GP but also @theHSSIB

I wonder what @CQCProf & @gmcuk think?

This break’s Jess’ Rule

5/x

On average 88.9 submissions per 1,000 patients in August 2025

The range = 0 to 884.8 online consults, per day, per practice

Why do @NHSEngland @DHSCgovuk insist on treating all practices the same?

Why can’t we temporarily pause online when we are full?

This is not safe

4/x

According to this data

💥5,967 (over 96%) of practices in England have at least one online consultation system
 
💥5.1 million patient online submissions occurred in August

💥3.5 million clinical, the rest admin

(For context every A&E nationwide offers 67,000/day)

3/x

And guess what? @NHSEngland own data from August:

I’ve just found the following dataset:

digital.nhs.uk/data-and-infor…

“Submissions via Online Consultation Systems in General Practice, August 2025”

Well well well… 🕵️‍♀️
 
2/x

If @wesstreeting thinks GPs are stuck in 20thC, visit a hospital

We are the science museum!

➡️Electronic records since 1991
➡️Online triage
➡️Ambient scribes
➡️SMS
➡️Online bookings
➡️Electronic prescribing
➡️Online referrals
➡️Video consults DAYS after 1st lockdown….

1/x

Govt now need to *listen* to our solutions for how to avoid potential disputes, and how this won’t cost Treasury a penny.

@BMA_GP have articulated our concerns professionally & in good faith

GPs have been labelled “laggards” & “blockers of progress” despite eRS; EPS; GPSoC; GPC-UR read access; 99% surgeries on cloud-based telephony; & access higher than any point in 77 yr Hx of NHS: 1.5m pts/day

Equally true:

@TheBMA warns Secretary of State the NHS will die, should Labour lose the next election, because they refused to work with Drs & imposed unevidenced top-down reforms & dangerous contracts risking patient safety…

theguardian.com/society/2025/s…

@BMA_GP @rcgp @TheDA_UK

4. Extend NHSResolution for IG liabilities

5. Govt explicit preference GPs lead SNP & parity of opportunity @ MNP level

This is a critical juncture for the profession

We want to work w Govt to secure solutions, not create problems

But GPs need to see action

GPCE clear what’s needed to ⬇️doubt ⬆️confidence & avoid disputes:

1. Roadmap & timelines for GMS contract renewal & transparency of investment

2. ARRS > practice-level reimbursement

3. Additional practice-level scheme to reduce GP
under/unemployment asap….

Support is appreciated but actions count most
Re: 10YP that means ICBs pushing back on Trusts to ensure GP influence @ N’hood level

Govt must listen to GPs to meet the 3 objectives
GPs can support principles whilst
pointing to where 10YP fails in described implementation.

The results are in: GPs do an amazing job Despite the severe pressures family doctors are under they have seen 30 million patients in one month alone, finds survey

Great article by James here: on the back of @wesstreeting’s letter to GPs this week: (in thread)

www.bma.org.uk/news-and-opi...

YouTube video by Christina Pagel Helen Salisbury Newsnight July 2025

Newsnight last night. I had more to say but it wasn't easy.
We already have Neighbourhood health centres - they are called GP surgeries. Invest in GP - we know it works if funded properly
youtu.be/mDEDXFQfqIk?...

This:

…in this model, as a precaution, while the facts can be established
 
Patients shouldn’t have to worry that what they tell their GP will get fed to AI models without the full range of safeguards in place to dictate how that data is shared

@bma_gp

We appreciate @NHSEngland’s verbal commitment yesterday to improve on these processes going forward

The joint GP IT committee has asked NHS England to refer itself to the @ICOnews so the full circumstances can be understood, & to pause ongoing processing of data

As such, we are unclear as to whether the correct processes were followed to ensure that data was shared in line with patients’ expectations and established governance processes
 
We have raised our concerns with NHS England through the Joint GP IT Committee