GP TechLead

Introduction   As the landscape of general practice continues to evolve, many GPs are exploring portfolio careers, allowing them to diversify their professional experience. One such avenue is occupational health, a field that focuses on the relationship between health and work. Here’s a guide on how you can transition into occupational health as a portfolio GP. 

The Type 2 NHS Pension Scheme Self-Assessment Form is a critical document for salaried GPs, solo practitioners, and locum providers to accurately report their earnings and contributions to the NHS pension scheme. The 2022-2023 form deadline is upcoming, so I thought a guide might be useful for those struggling to complete it.

The proposed 1.9% uplift to the GMS contract in England has ignited concerns within the general practice community, raising critical questions about its impact on both financial sustainability and patient care. Examining the details of this offer and its potential ramifications reveals a complex scenario with far-reaching consequences. 

Working as a General Practitioner with a Special Interest in Vasectomies  Vasectomy is a surgical procedure that sterilizes a man by blocking the vas deferens, the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles to the urethra. It is a permanent form of contraception and is one of the most common surgical procedures performed on men. General practitioners (GPs) with a special interest in vasectomies have additional training and experience in performing this procedure. They can provide patients with information about the procedure, answer their questions, and perform the vasectomy safely and effectively. 

On the GP social media, locum GPs are angry that they are unable to find jobs because other allied healthcare professionals are undercutting them. Locum GPs are fully qualified GPs who work on a temporary basis, and they are often used to fill gaps in the workforce when a GP is on leave or sick. However, in recent months, there has been a growing trend of allied healthcare professionals, such as nurse practitioners, paramedics and physician assistants, taking on GP roles.

Has the season of strikes ended? In the news, many professions have now ceased their strike action. Teachers have now accepted a 6.5% pay deal meaning they will not strike anymore. Nurses, paramedics and 999 call handlers accepted a 5% pay increase as well as a one off payment to end the strikes. The nurses were actually in favour of continuing to strike but the turn out for their ballot was too low to legally allow more striking. Firefighters didn't strike but they accepted a 7% backdated pay increase and 5% pay increase this year. 

Lots of interesting news came for doctors this week in the form of the Budget and also an announcement from NHS England. Jeremy Hunt, the current chancellor of the Exchequer who is control of the countries finances, was previously the infamous health secretary who battled the junior doctors back in 2016. Since then though, he has claimed that he more sympathetic to doctors and has claimed that he will solve the NHS pension issue for high-earning doctors. Well in this announcement on the 15th March has gone some way to solving it.

With the whole NHS seemingly crumbling, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that primary care was valiantly holding up a failing system. Emergency departments with long waiting times, paramedics, physiotherapists and nurses striking, junior doctors likely going to strike, waiting times for elective procedures at all time highs - there is only so much this system can take. 

Money is seemingly what is forever talked about in the news. We're constantly told we're in the cost of living crisis and that we're only steps away from the breadline. There are a few reasons for this, the war in Ukraine, the Covid pandemic and the period of relative boom with historical low interest rates. Those used to super low mortgage rates of less than 1% are now shocked that they are coming back to 'normal' interest rates of 5-6%. However it's not just mortgages that are now more expensive, it's everything such as milk and eggs. This has lead the inflation rate for this month to top 11.1%, the highest its been for 41 years. This makes it hard for us to afford everyday items as our wage has definitely not gone up by that amount. This disparity has led to the many strikes that have happened this year (trains, royal mail) and may lead to more in the next few months (nurses, doctors). 

I was having a discussion recently about what can those not relying on an NHS pension can do for retirement. Workplaces are legally required by law to give a pension, and though most of the time you should definitely take it (it's effectively extra income if your employer will add to it), it may not be invested in the appropriate funds or might be charging high fees. The two main methods most talked about are Stocks and Shares ISAs (Individual Savings Account) and SIPPS (Self-Invested Private Pensions). They effectively are tax wrappers that shield the growth of the equities within them from tax. Below Are my takes on the pros and cons of each of these products, and when they may be appropriate for some.

Been busy with life so not posted for a while, so much has happened in the world since I last posted. Putin has gone true megalomaniac and invaded Ukraine, and if reports are true, they are doing a valiant job holding him back. Things were already very expensive prior to the war due to Covid but with sanctions flying from the western nations to Russia, it has made things like petrol very expensive. Certain foods are also set to rise, with the bulk of sunflower oil and wheat coming from these two countries, things like bread and livestock which need as feed, will become more expensive. Drivers have already noticed, with petrol prices through the roof, I'm sure we're a few weeks away from 200p / litre. Rishi Sunak tried to stem this tide with his announcement today, increasing the NI limit and taking 5p off fuel duty. Covid seems like a long lost friend...

The annual allowance allowance calculation for the NHS pension is confusing. I wrote about it here but I still have to go back to refresh my knowledge about it. The hard bit about working it out for tax purposes is to think that it's not the monetary amount you contribute, but its the annual growth of the your pension pot. The maths involved makes my head hurt. 

As I write this, I'm stuck awaiting a PCR test for a cough that has come about suddenly. I'm sure it's not Covid but got to make sure, the numerous lateral flows are all negative. It does mean that I'm away from any family this Xmas as PCR test results are taking the maximum 72 hours to come back; previously it was no more than 24 hours. Must be a combination of the extra testing this time of year, the increase cases due to Omicron and possibly less people working in the labs this holiday season. Omicron cases hit over 120,000 cases a day which is mind-blowing, no doubt some form of lock down will happen post-xmas. 

GP Practices have had a few financial obstacles put in its way this year. Firstly there was the 3% pay rise for staff which I have covered before. But more recently, there was an increase in National Insurance (NI) contributions and in the budget last week, an increase to the minimum wage to £9.50 an hour. Financial experts feel the NI changes alone will mean an average loss of £15,000 a year  to the average GP surgery. I feel NI is a very confusing tax to understand compared to income tax, so I thought I'd try to break it down as easily as I can.

Going back to my previous introductory  NHS pension post , employee contribution to the NHS pension was tiered dependant on your earnings. Below was the previous banding and employee contribution rates. 

You may have heard in the news that GPs are going to be getting a large money boost in the form of £250 million to help with the winter pressures. This hasn't been received very well by GPs and the BMA as they feel it's not enough and doesn't really solve one of the main issues in this, lack of doctors. I had a quick read through of the plan released by NHS England, and found some interesting points. You can have a full read of the plan here .

Previous I discussed the principles of Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) but there is more than one type of FIRE. There is a no one size fits all when it comes to financial independence. 

What is the point of saving? For some it is to buy a house, for others its to buy a nice car or a big holiday. But once you're settled in your living arrangement or there is nothing material to save for, what else should you do with your money? Do you live to work or do you work to live? These deep questions may make you think about the purpose of work and what we really do with our money.

The new to partnership scheme has an attached £3,000 bursary attached to it for new partners. It's meant to teach new partners the non-clinical skills that should serve them well in their new role. It requires you to pay for the course, and then NHS England will pay your practice back on your 1 year anniversary of being a partner. There are several options available that I'm aware of, listed below.

I don't read the Daily Mail regularly but occasionally I get sent a interesting news articles by friends and colleagues. This time, I got sent the annual GP bashing article as the annual pay report is released, titled Rise of the £100k GPs . The actual financial report is published here .