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The Liberal Democrats are calling for 8,000 new GPs to be recruited after an analysis found that some areas of England have almost 3,000 registered patients for every fully qualified GP.
The political party says this “ever-worsening GP shortage” is having a “terrible human cost”, with people facing face delayed or missed diagnoses and A&Es full to bursting.
Retired doctors need to be encouraged to return to practice
The analysis shows that the number of registered patients at GP practices has increased by 4 million (7%) since 2016. Meanwhile, during the same period, the number of fully qualified GPs has fallen by 1,946 (7%). This means there are now 2,273 patients per fully qualified GP, up from 1,981 in 2016.
Some of the worst affected areas include Blackburn with Darwen, which has 2,915 registered patients per fully qualified GP, Portsmouth (2,821), Hull (2,805) and Oldham (2,805).
The Lib Dems are now calling on the government to introduce legislation which would ensure that patients are seen by their GP within seven days of booking an appointment, or within 24 hours if in urgent need.
“This would be achieved by recruiting an extra 8,000 GPs, through increasing training places, fixing NHS pension rules and launching a campaign to encourage retired doctors to return to practice,” a spokesperson from the party said.
GPs are burnt out and leaving the profession in droves
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said the research shows how GPs are working “above and beyond to deliver care to an ever-growing patient population, with falling numbers of fully-qualified, full-time equivalent GPs”.
Prof Hawthorne highlights that 340 million patient consultations were carried out in general practice last year. This is an increase of 9% compared to 2019, yet over the same period the number of fully-qualified GPs fell by 754.
“This isn’t sustainable. It is leading to many GPs burning out and leaving the profession earlier than planned, and we don’t have enough GPs entering the profession at a fast enough rate to replace them – and it’s clear that some of our most vulnerable patients are feeling the impact of this most starkly. Patients and GP teams deserve better.”
The RCGP is now urging the government to implement a new recruitment and retention strategy, including initiatives to attract GPs to work in under doctored areas, where our services are often most needed.
“Funding for general practice must also be returned to 11% of the total health spend, and better investment in our IT systems and premises is needed, alongside steps to cut bureaucracy so that we have more time to deliver care to the growing numbers of patients who need it,” Prof Hawthorne said.