A survey from the British Medical Association has highlighted the struggles that GPs are having when trying to find work.
Through this, it was discovered that four out of five locum GPs in England are unable to find work, whilst more than 50% are expecting to make work or career changes within the next year. Alongside the work or career changes, 33% of locum GPs have already made definite plans to change their career paths – a third of which are being forced to leave the NHS entirely due to a lack of suitable shifts.
All of this has led the BMA to fear that patient access in England will only continue to worsen.
Chair of the BMA council, Professor Philip Banfield, said:
“How is it possible to have thousands of patients needing treatment and GPs available to give that care, but prevented from doing so by a system unable to pay them? To have highly qualified doctors turning to other jobs to earn a wage whilst GP practices cannot meet the demands placed on them and patients waiting weeks for an appointment, shows what a fiasco the NHS has been turned into.
“It is clear we have a government which has not only watched, but aided and abetted the decline of general practice and with it, the morale and goodwill of our GPs, especially in England. GPs are hugely underappreciated – there is no substitute for their skills and experience.”
The BMA warned the government last year that the current Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme model would make the GP employment crisis worse as it only funds non-GP roles. This has been supported by the survey, which saw 71% of the 1,852 respondents blaming the ARRS for GP unemployment.
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