{"id":314438,"date":"2026-02-28T09:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T09:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/314438\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T09:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T09:04:16","slug":"bma-launches-hysterical-campaign-likening-gps-to-pandas-as-they-face-extinction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/314438\/","title":{"rendered":"BMA launches ‘hysterical’ campaign likening GPs to Pandas as they face ‘extinction’"},"content":{"rendered":"

By SHAUN WOOLLER, EXECUTIVE HEALTH EDITOR<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 11:42 EST, 27 February 2026 | Updated: 11:55 EST, 27 February 2026 <\/p>\n

The British Medical Association has launched a bizarre campaign that urges GPs to act like pandas in a bid to avoid \u2018extinction\u2019.<\/p>\n

The militant union describes family doctors as a \u2018critically endangered\u2019 species and claims \u2018over-exploitation\u2019 is leading many to quit their \u00a3120,000 a year jobs.<\/p>\n

\u2018Invasive competition\u2019 from other healthcare workers, \u2019habitat loss\u2019 as a result of crumbling buildings and the \u2018pollution\u2019 of red tape is adding to the threat, it adds.<\/p>\n

Patient groups today accused the BMA of being over-dramatic and said people are more likely to think of GPs as timid mice who \u2018scurry away whenever you try to book an appointment\u2019.<\/p>\n

It comes after the Government this week revealed GPs will have to offer patents same day consultations for \u2018urgent\u2019 medical issues from April under the terms of a new NHS<\/a> contract.<\/p>\n

BMA leaders reacted furiously to the announcement and said it will ballot its members to gauge their support for the new terms.<\/p>\n

If there is widespread opposition, it could lead to industrial action.<\/p>\n

A \u2018bitesize briefing\u2019 published by the BMA says a smaller number of full-time equivalent GPs are responsible for a greater number of patients, with fewer doctors wanting to become GP partners who own and manage their practice.<\/p>\n

\"Giant <\/p>\n

Giant panda Xing Xing – resting at Chongqing Zoo in Chongqing, China – could inspire stressed GPs.<\/p>\n

It adds: \u2018General Practice is critically endangered facing extinction.<\/p>\n

\u2018Government must bring it back from the brink. We can turn this round.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Giant Panda has recently been removed from the WWF\u2019s critically endangered list thanks to successful reproduction programmes.<\/p>\n

\u2018We need to secure partnerships and drive-up partner numbers as a priority to stabilise our profession in the same way.<\/p>\n

\u2018This campaign is not alarmist. It is precautionary. General practice remains the most cost-effective part of the NHS.\u2019<\/p>\n

The five-page leaflet says extinction occurs when a species can \u2018no longer survive or be sustained in its environment, or when its environment rapidly changes and becomes hostile\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018It can happen gradually, or it can happen suddenly,\u2019 it continues.<\/p>\n

Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, which campaigns for elderly patients, said: \u2018Drawing comparisons between GPs and pandas is really over-egging the pudding and rather hysterical.<\/p>\n

\"Dennis <\/p>\n

Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, which campaigns for elderly patients, said comparisons between GPs and pandas is ‘hysterical’.<\/p>\n

\"Patients <\/p>\n

Patients say they often struggle to secure a GP appointment and when they do it might be a remote consultation only.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a bizarre anecdote.<\/p>\n

\u2018The reality is that there are GPs out there but patients struggle to find them as they are often a species in hiding.<\/p>\n

\u2018They are more like timid mice that scurry away whenever you try to book an appointment.<\/p>\n

\u2018Lots of elderly people tell me they struggle to be seen and often feel like they get put to the back of the queue because they have complex conditions that cannot be dealt with quickly.<\/p>\n

\u2018The government is quite right to insist that patients with urgent medical needs are seen the same day and the BMA is not going to endear themselves to the public if they continue to oppose it.\u2019<\/p>\n

Nearly half (48 per cent) of adults avoided or delayed contacting their GP about a health concern last year, a poll for the Health Foundation think tank revealed this week.<\/p>\n

People cited difficulties contacting their local practice, opting to wait for the problem to go away and not expecting to be offered a suitable appointment as some of the main reasons behind their decision.<\/p>\n

The new GP contact will also see GPs paid millions of pounds in bonuses if they prescribe fat jabs to their most obese patients and includes funding for them to increase vaccination rates among children.<\/p>\n

Health Secretary Wes Streeting Secretary said: \u2018Through this government\u2019s investment and modernisation, we\u2019re fixing the front door to the NHS.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re giving practices the flexibility to hire more GPs, and backing them with extra funding to do so.\u2019<\/p>\n

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