NEWS: GP practices hit by costly telephony

As reported by GP Online, as GP leaders urge a pause on new telephony rollout, practices are feeling the financial strain of up to 300% increases in telephone system costs, raising concerns over viability

In a letter to NHS England, the BMA warned that GP practices are facing ‘huge cost increases’ as they transfer to new ‘cloud-based telephony’ (CBT) systems required under the current GP contract.

GP leaders accused NHS England of ‘ignoring’ warnings that practices could face additional costs – and said they had been given assurances that costs would not rise.

However, the BMA says some practices have seen costs increase by as much as 300% compared with their previous phone systems – and warned that practices already struggling financially could not be expected to meet such large extra costs without new funding.

GP cost pressures

The BMA warning comes after an LMC report warned last month that ‘compared to the previous telephony systems the new CBT systems incur yearly fees that are approximately double or triple current annual costs. This will result in an extra expense of between £3,000 to £10,000 depending on the practice size.’

The report from Cumbria and Lancashire LMCs also warned that some practices were being asked to cover set-up fees of £15,000 to £30,000 upfront and then apply to claim them back later, ‘causing major cashflow problems within already cash-strapped practices’.

BMA England GP committee deputy chair Dr David Wrigley said: ‘At a time of significant pressure on GP practices, particularly on a contractual issue mandated by the 2023/24 imposition, this issue is of huge concern to GPs and it is having a direct impact on surgeries struggling to manage the finances they receive from government to run their practices.

‘Our concerns have long been ignored, and instead we’ve been told in meetings that costs for practices when changing to these services would not increase. This could not be further from the truth for many GPs across the country. Some are seeing rises of 300% to their current telephone system costs.

Telephony rollout

‘We cannot expect GP practices across the country to cover these significant additional costs without much needed support to help them manage the transition. Ultimately, without more funding in the practice infrastructure, this new system will be a further blow to GP surgeries already struggling to cope.

‘We need an immediate pause on this new programme of work and then work to ensure this new system is in the best possible place, so we don’t create additional problems for GP surgeries across the country.’

The warning over soaring costs from practice phone systems comes as the BMA prepares to launch a referendum of GPs over a ‘derisory’ 1.9% uplift offer for the 2024/25 GP contract.

GP leaders have warned an uplift at that level – half the current level of inflation and far below a 10% increase to the minimum wage that takes effect from April – would have devastating consequences and could trigger a ‘slew of practice closures’.

BMA polling suggests that even before the contract offer, as many as two-thirds of GP practices were concerned over their short- and long-term viability.

NHS England has been approached for comment.