On his Facebook page, Parker, 57, introduces himself as “a new convert, a soul in the midst of spiritual growth.

Just over a year ago, as he was pictured on Facebook officiating a wedding, Washington pastor and grandfather Steve Parker was praised as an “amazing man of God.” Earlier this month, however, detectives in Skagit County arrested Parker, who allegedly had a stockpile of guns and drugs, after getting a tip that he was on his way to becoming “a high level drug dealer,” and his clean-cut family knew nothing about his double life. ‘It may be that practices now have to create much longer periods of appointment availability, extending perhaps, two to three months into the future this would be regarded as very prompt in terms of specialist waiting times.Steve Parker | Screenshot: Facebook/Steve Parker On switching off online consultations, Dr Parker said: ‘The LMC recommends practices do this in a predictable and published way, or it may be confusing to patients, rather than at variable times during the day.

Move away from an unlimited ‘duty doctor’ system: there may still be a ‘duty doctor’ whose available appointments are capped in number but are only bookable ‘on the day’.

Limit the total number of appointments per GP to between 25 to 35 each day, this includes telephone and on-line appointments.

The LMC also recommended all practices implement the BMA’s advice on safe working, and suggested they should: The LMC advised all practices should switch off their online consultation systems, at a minimum outside core hours (from 6.30pm to 8.00am on weekdays, and from 6.30pm on Fridays to 8.00am on Mondays) but practices should consider whether demand and capacity constraints mean their on-line platform should be switched off during part of core hours too. After the contact imposition by NHS England, the BMA expressed concerns around the new requirement, saying it believes it ‘is not achievable for many practices with current resource and workforce.’ĭr Julius Parker, chief executive of Surrey and Sussex LMC, said it is now time for GPs to ‘take the initiative’ and ‘determine their response to their unmanageable and unsafe workload’, in the guidance issued to practices last week.

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