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03.02.16

Just 2% of GP practices think workload is ‘generally manageable’

Only one in 50 GP practices in England have a workload that they generally manageable or low, with over half arguing that the quality of services is deteriorating because of rising pressures, the BMA has found.

In a survey of almost 3,000 practices, answered by just over a third of GP practices in England, the union found that most doctors feel quality has dropped over the last year due to unmanageable workload. The overwhelming majority of practices (92%) said there had been a rise in demand for appointments in the past 12 months.

Just over one in 10 practices said their workload was unmanageable ‘all of the time’. Practices in the West Midlands were struggling most, with three in four of the region’s GPs saying they could not keep up with their workload either all or a lot of the time.

Providers in the south reported the biggest deterioration in patient care, with two-thirds of practices arguing it had declined over the past year. Using this data, the BMA launched a heatmap of Parliamentary constituencies showing the worst-affected areas.

Dr Beth McCarron, a member of the BMA GP executive team, which undertook the research, said figures “clearly show that general practice is in state of emergency”.

“This is clearly the result of rising workload, including increasing patient demand for appointments which is placing unsustainable pressure on GP services that have been starved of resources and staff,” said McCarron.

“There were more than 600 GP trainee positions left unfilled in 2015 at a time when a third of the workforce are considering retirement in the next five years. This comes at a time when GP practices are seeing 150,000 more patients each day than in 2010, but have seen no extra resources to maintain effective, safe care to the public.

She argued politicians have to realise that general practice is “currently running on empty”, with GPs needing to be handed the appropriate resources and support to provide patients with better services.

But health minister Alistair Burt argued the government is already doing exactly that, with health secretary Jeremy Hunt expected to announce “further support for GPs, which should assist in meeting the pressures doctors are reporting” shortly.

“General practice is at the heart of the improvement we want to see in the NHS. We recognise absolutely that it is under pressure, which is why we are delivering record investment,” Burt added.

NHS England has also launched a recruitment scheme this week that will give over 100 GPs a one-off bursary of £20,000 to work in traditionally unpopular and understaffed regions.

But despite the upcoming package, some practices across the country are becoming unsustainable, with some already having to close their doors. Just last month, for example, the Queens Road Medical Centre in Leicester announced “with a heavy heart” that it would have to discontinue services from March.

Dr Jonathan Lenten, who helps run it, said in a letter to patients: “Unfortunately, in the current healthcare environment, small practices are becoming unviable, as the workload has reached an unsustainable level and access to funding is becoming more and more difficult for practices which are set up like ours in the traditional way.”

Doctors are also expected to lobby for significant contract changes when the new package is introduced this month, including the ability to opt out of care home visits in order to deal with workload and workforce pressure back in the surgery.

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