Dr Anne-Marie writes about her week at work.

We asked Dr Anne-Marie to write an article because we are aware of the frustrations patients

express especially concerning getting appointments.

Beneath the article you will find a response from Ian Anderon, Chair of IPG.

Read below:

Response from Ian Anderon, Chair of IPG:

We asked Dr Anne-Marie to write an article because we are aware of the frustrations patients express especially concerning getting appointments.

I think the article does give us an understanding of the very challenging work pressures our GP’s face.

Our meetings with the Practice staff have shown that they too are sometimes frustrated by the difficulties in getting patients the help that they request.

These frustrations can so easily lead to patients losing satisfaction with the Practice. We felt it important we try and get a view of how things are working within the Practice.

I have gathered some facts from recent news articles for background:

On an average day in the NHS…

• more than 1.2 million people would attend a GP appointment

• nearly 260,000 people would attend an outpatient appointment

• more than 37,000 people would call 999

• For someone who attends an urgent care centre and receives the lowest level of investigation and treatment the average cost in 2022/23 is £86. For an individual at a major A&E department who receives more complex investigation and treatment the costs start at £418

• In 2020/21, the estimated  average cost  of a patient being taken to A&E by ambulance was £367. Ambulance call-outs that didn’t result in a trip to A&E cost an estimated average of £276

• A recent study estimated that, in 2021/22, the average 9-minute GP face-to-face consultation costs £42

• NHS vacancy statistics estimate that there are 124,000 vacancies in theNHS, (including 8,700 medical professionals and 43,600 nursing staff)

• 71% of patients rate their doctor consultation good or very good but the overall level of satisfaction with the NHS has reached an all time low of 28%

• General Practice provides 90% of care but receives only 8.4% of the NHS budget [ the lowest figure in 8 years]

• GP workload has increased by 20% and Dr Anne-Marie has said on many days she is dealing with 2 and 3 times the number of patients that the BMA recommends

• More GP’s are suffering burn out, quitting or working fewer days. A new survey showed that 78% of GP’s have experienced real unease because of situations where they are struggling to get a patient the quality of care that they feel the patient needs

• In England 67% of GP appointments are ‘face to face’. 40% on the same day

• England would need 16,700 more GP’s to match the average per 10,000 population for the 38 OECD countries

• Private medical care is rising to 13%

My personal view on the situation is that all areas of the NHS are under increasing strain with resources not meeting the increasing need. General practices are the foundations of the NHS and are under particular strain.

Because it is impossible to provide appointments for all requests from patients then our GP’s

these days have to focus on finding those people who may be at risk and ensure these people get appropriate help. This means that those of us with less urgent need are lower down the list.

General Practices are the gateway into the larger NHS and the financial statistics from the Kings Fund quoted above show what great value they offer.

As a patient group we will continue to challenge the Practice at times but it does seem as though the troubles really lie within the system and not with the doctors and staff.