GP leaders clash with Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, over A&E crisis

GPs’ leaders have clashed with the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, in their increasingly acrimonious row over who is responsible for the crisis in Accident & Emergency departments.

Laurence Buckman, chairman of the BMA’s GP committee, accused Mr Hunt of “spouting rubbish” about the crisis and warned that family doctors were not prepared “to shore up” the emergency and out-of-hours services.

Speaking at the GPs’ annual conference in London, Dr Buckman said: “Despite all the evidence, Hunt continues to tweet that it is all the fault of the GP contract. This is because he does not want to bother with the facts when he can have a bash at those of us who, on his own admission, are over-worked and strained beyond endurance.”

But Mr Hunt claimed that poor GP practices offered an inferior service that was driving patients to A&E.