GPs to face potential closure, says body

The hike in national insurance contributions (NICs) set for April will see some Northern Ireland GP practices going under if the government does not provide a bail-out, according to a senior doctor.

The Royal College of GPs in Northern Ireland (RCGP) told Stormont’s Public Accounts Committee the move could be “catastrophic”.

Employers currently pay a rate of 13.8% on employees’ earnings above a threshold of £9,100 a year.

In the Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said this rate would increase to 15% in April 2025, and the threshold would be reduced to £5,000.

The DUP MLA, Diane Forsythe, said she had received information back from the Department of Health that the cost of NICs to doctors, dentists and pharmacists in Northern Ireland could be about £35m.

Dr Ursula Mason from the RCGP told the committee: “There will be contract handbacks without a doubt because practices are already financially very precarious.

“Practices can’t go over budget – we can’t do that. There’s nobody coming to bail out an independent contractor practice.

“The bail-out is that the contract goes back. You either suffer the financial risk and consequences of that, or that contract gets taken on by someone else.

“The national insurance contributions could be catastrophic if not met… it has the potential to destroy a lot of practices financially.”

She said when a doctor heard about a practice being forced to hand their contract back to the Department of Health, they were “holding their head in their hands” wondering if they would be next.

Dr Frances O’Hagan from the British Medical Association told the committee that many GP practices were “teetering on the edge” and faced closure if there was not a boost to funding.

She said there was a fear GPs would become “an endangered species” if greater budgetary provision was not allocated to primary care.