Speaking in a Question Time-style debate at the RCGP annual conference in Liverpool on Friday, Dr Jodie Blackadder-Weinstein said new GPs did want to become partners, but they were wary of inheriting practice contracts that did not reflect current issues.
'We’ve done a First5 survey that is going to be released in the coming months and First5s do want to be partners, we do want to have a stake in the practice,' Dr Blackadder-Weinstein said. 'But they don’t want to inherit a practice contract that was written 25 years ago.'
She said that the new GPs saw the introduction of primary care networks (PCNs) was an opportunity, adding that more experienced colleagues should involve them in leadership roles to ensure networks were sustainable.
PCNs are opportunity
'We need more experienced GPs to actually be willing to take what sometimes seems a risk and take someone from the younger generation of GPs coming through with new ideas to be part of delivering and getting these PCNs up and running,' Dr Blackadder-Weinstein added.
'Otherwise we will have the same problem [as partnerships] in 10, 15 years time – that PCNs will be a thing but it’s not had the input from the incoming GPs to build it into something that we want to be part of.'
CQC chief inspector of primary care Dr Rosie Bennyworth, who was also taking part in the debate, said younger GPs needed to support to develop leadership skills.
'The future is going to be leadership of multidisciplinary teams and new ways of working and those [leadership] skills come naturally to some people, but some people need a lot of support to develop them,' she said.
'We also know that the outstanding practices we visit actually have a really good talent management programme. So they identify what talents and skills people have and develop them and look at how they continually develop them, so I think it’s really important we don’t forget that.'
