Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Join Andy and Gandhi for the first update of 2026 in General Practice
Welcome to 2026
Waiting for Neighbourhood Guidance
???GP suspended after blocking out appointments to collect children???
pulsetoday.co.uk/news/regulation/gp-suspended-after-blocking-out-appointments-to-collect-children
5m suspension
Specific facts available if you want to explore this
Links to public record of the hearing
Many suggest sanction is excessive
We will discuss the issues around it
Long hours
Lack of flexibility
Culture of not being able to admit or address pressures
To pick up kids - pressure, child care, culture…
Calls to end GP-issued fit notes after 40,000 per day issued in 2025
pulsetoday.co.uk/news/clinical-areas/musculoskeletal-rheumatology-sports-medicine/calls-to-end-gp-issued-fit-notes-after-40000-per-day-issued-in-2025
Some 40,000 people were signed off with fit notes each working day last year
Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) estimated 11 million fit notes were issued in 2025 – the majority by GPs.
The CSJ recommended fit note responsibility be moved away from ‘overstretched’ GPs and into a new Work and Health Service and ‘embed employment and occupational health support at the point of sign-off’.
See box
They also said the total includes fit notes signed off as ‘may be fit for work’ as well as ‘not fit for work’.
This is despite the Government introducing legislation in 2022 which expanded fit note certification to other professionals such as nurses, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists. Last year, Government-commissioned research found limited take up of healthcare professionals other than GPs writing fit notes since the 2022 reforms.
Thoughts
Difficult to treat, maintain relationship, trust whilst enforcing a need to return to work?
Move to online consultations removing direct engagement with patients and losing opportunities to support back to work - something thats good for patients
Talk of removing this responsibility from GP s for some time
Used to be that 3-6m sickness DWP service assessed - this was removed at some point. Sounds like bringing that back
Behaviour of job centre
Also financial and societal/social pressure to return - presenteeism
EMIS set to be bought by US private equity firm in deal worth over £1bn
pulsetoday.co.uk/news/technology/emis-set-to-be-bought-by-us-private-equity-firm-in-deal-worth-over-1bn
The largest supplier of GP IT systems in England could be bought by a US private equity firm in deal worth more than £1bn.
TPG is set to buy Optum UK, the company that owns the EMIS electronic patient record (EPR) software, for between £1.2bn and £1.4bn, according to Sky News.
TPG could seek to combine Optum UK with Nextech, a US-based provider of electronic medical record software to doctors’ practices, according to the report.
EMIS is one of two main providers of clinical systems in primary care in England alongside TPP SystmOne. It is used by more than 4,000 GP practices – more than three-fifths of all practices.
Last June, NHS England approved the Medicus Health GP IT system, describing it as first new entrant to the GP IT market for 25 years and part of reforms to increase competition and innovation.
Thoughts
ONward sale sale price is less United Health paid 1.2B, sale to TPG for 1B
TPG AUM $246B en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TPG_Inc. (tech, healthcare, retail, B2B, rea estate, financial services industrials…)
Unit Health Assets 298B
OptumUK - debt in the deal?
EPS market is going to be interesting this year
Why buy - integrate with other EPS, market share? Integrate AI functions? Push for further market share. Defensive vs Medicus an challenger products
What does this mean for TPP?
Investment to improve EMIS?
Neighbourhood model depends on general practice becoming ‘more attractive’, warn MPs
pulsetoday.co.uk/news/workforce/neighbourhood-model-depends-on-general-practice-becoming-more-attractive-warn-mps
The Government has been warned that the success of the neighbourhood health model and the upcoming NHS 10-year workforce plan depends on making general practice a ‘more attractive place to work’.
In a letter sent today to secondary care minister Karin Smyth, (by Layla Moran - Chair - Health Select Committee) - the parliamentary health and social care committee warned that the model will not succeed if the community sector continues to offer ‘worse pay’ and ‘fewer opportunities’ than the acute sector.
The ‘refreshed’ plan is set to replace the 2023 Long Term Workforce Plan, whose aim to increase NHS headcount 60% by 2037 was rejected as unworkable. The 2023 plan was also criticised for its projected 4% increase of fully-qualified GPs by 2036/37, compared to a 49% increase in hospital consultants.
Join Andy and Gandhi for the first update of 2026 in General Practice
Welcome to 2026
Waiting for Neighbourhood Guidance
???GP suspended after blocking out appointments to collect children???
pulsetoday.co.uk/news/regulation/gp-suspended-after-blocking-out-appointments-to-collect-children
5m suspension
Specific facts available if you want to explore this
Links to public record of the hearing
Many suggest sanction is excessive
We will discuss the issues around it
Long hours
Lack of flexibility
Culture of not being able to admit or address pressures
To pick up kids - pressure, child care, culture…
Calls to end GP-issued fit notes after 40,000 per day issued in 2025
pulsetoday.co.uk/news/clinical-areas/musculoskeletal-rheumatology-sports-medicine/calls-to-end-gp-issued-fit-notes-after-40000-per-day-issued-in-2025
Some 40,000 people were signed off with fit notes each working day last year
Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) estimated 11 million fit notes were issued in 2025 – the majority by GPs.
The CSJ recommended fit note responsibility be moved away from ‘overstretched’ GPs and into a new Work and Health Service and ‘embed employment and occupational health support at the point of sign-off’.
See box
They also said the total includes fit notes signed off as ‘may be fit for work’ as well as ‘not fit for work’.
This is despite the Government introducing legislation in 2022 which expanded fit note certification to other professionals such as nurses, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists. Last year, Government-commissioned research found limited take up of healthcare professionals other than GPs writing fit notes since the 2022 reforms.
Thoughts
Difficult to treat, maintain relationship, trust whilst enforcing a need to return to work?
Move to online consultations removing direct engagement with patients and losing opportunities to support back to work - something thats good for patients
Talk of removing this responsibility from GP s for some time
Used to be that 3-6m sickness DWP service assessed - this was removed at some point. Sounds like bringing that back
Behaviour of job centre
Also financial and societal/social pressure to return - presenteeism
EMIS set to be bought by US private equity firm in deal worth over £1bn
pulsetoday.co.uk/news/technology/emis-set-to-be-bought-by-us-private-equity-firm-in-deal-worth-over-1bn
The largest supplier of GP IT systems in England could be bought by a US private equity firm in deal worth more than £1bn.
TPG is set to buy Optum UK, the company that owns the EMIS electronic patient record (EPR) software, for between £1.2bn and £1.4bn, according to Sky News.
TPG could seek to combine Optum UK with Nextech, a US-based provider of electronic medical record software to doctors’ practices, according to the report.
EMIS is one of two main providers of clinical systems in primary care in England alongside TPP SystmOne. It is used by more than 4,000 GP practices – more than three-fifths of all practices.
Last June, NHS England approved the Medicus Health GP IT system, describing it as first new entrant to the GP IT market for 25 years and part of reforms to increase competition and innovation.
Thoughts
ONward sale sale price is less United Health paid 1.2B, sale to TPG for 1B
TPG AUM $246B en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TPG_Inc. (tech, healthcare, retail, B2B, rea estate, financial services industrials…)
Unit Health Assets 298B
OptumUK - debt in the deal?
EPS market is going to be interesting this year
Why buy - integrate with other EPS, market share? Integrate AI functions? Push for further market share. Defensive vs Medicus an challenger products
What does this mean for TPP?
Investment to improve EMIS?
Neighbourhood model depends on general practice becoming ‘more attractive’, warn MPs
pulsetoday.co.uk/news/workforce/neighbourhood-model-depends-on-general-practice-becoming-more-attractive-warn-mps
The Government has been warned that the success of the neighbourhood health model and the upcoming NHS 10-year workforce plan depends on making general practice a ‘more attractive place to work’.
In a letter sent today to secondary care minister Karin Smyth, (by Layla Moran - Chair - Health Select Committee) - the parliamentary health and social care committee warned that the model will not succeed if the community sector continues to offer ‘worse pay’ and ‘fewer opportunities’ than the acute sector.
The ‘refreshed’ plan is set to replace the 2023 Long Term Workforce Plan, whose aim to increase NHS headcount 60% by 2037 was rejected as unworkable. The 2023 plan was also criticised for its projected 4% increase of fully-qualified GPs by 2036/37, compared to a 49% increase in hospital consultants.
