GP Survival committee, an elected body representing 8,600 GP members in the U.K, have no confidence in the leadership of Dr Nikki Kanani, NHS England Medical Director of Primary Care. We are calling on Dr Kanani to resign or be removed from her post.

This open letter and petition of GPs has been sent following the inflammatory and insulting SOP sent to English practices last week, telling them they must offer face to face appointments to patients who prefer them; deliberately or not, it implies support to the false accusations in the press that GPs have not been providing face-to-face care throughout the pandemic. GPs across the U.K. have worked tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic, delivering effective ongoing care to their patients at greater numbers than ever utilising telephone triage as per NHSE guidance, and seeing face-to-face in surgeries/hot hubs/home visits as needed), administering nearly 75% of Covid-19 vaccinations, and seeing many practice staff lost to Covid in the line of duty. It is insulting in the extreme to their memory to be told by a fellow GP that we must see patients face-to-face when there is ample evidence that we, as a profession, never stopped.

This NHSE SOP is delivered irrationally at a time when the country faces a potential third wave of the B1.617.2 variant, and indeed comes when GPs are being told to accelerate Covid vaccination in order to reduce the impact of this; it is somewhat perverse to be told to increase face-to-face contact at a time when the public are being primed that 'restriction-free-day' may be moved to later than 21st June due to a potential Covid resurgence. It is also contrary to the NHS (General Medical Services Contract) Regulations 2015 (Updated 01/04/2020) Section 17 Para 4 which states that services "Are delivered in the manner determined by the contractor's practice in discussion with the patient".

GP practices will continue to provide excellent triaged consultations to their patients, including seeing those face to face with a clinical need to do so, as they have done all through the pandemic - indeed, many surgeries operated a 'phone-first' model for years prior to the pandemic, to the apparent satisfaction of their patients, with NHSE never once objecting to this and the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, only months ago suggesting that the future of healthcare was primarily to be by app, replacing face-to-face, a vision we never believed in nor supported.

We urge Dr Kanani to take the honourable course of action.