HELEN STOKES-LAMPARD

IN 2011, the national GP vacancy rate was 2.1 per cent. Now it is at a shocking 15.3 per cent, according to a recent survey meaning that one in six positions are currently unfilled, leaving GPs struggling to meet enormous levels of patient demand. In some areas, the situation is particularly dire with 6.5 full-time equivalent GPs required to cover 14,000 patients.

The knock-on effect when practices are unable to recruit can have devastating consequences, not just for the staff and patients affected, but also on neighbouring surgeries and the wider NHS.

We are seeing practices being forced to shut their doors to patients. We are seeing GPs burning out as they strive to deal with over 60 patients a day, in some cases, constrained by 10-minute appointments when they want to spend much more time with their patients, particularly the increasing number with complex needs.

And it is this impact on our patients which is most alarming.

We know that patients who might not have urgent, pressing health problems are regularly having to wait weeks for an appointment, which by that time, could be more serious, more complicated and more costly.

When patients can’t get in to see their GP, their health is affected, their families are affected and their lives are affected.

It is becoming so serious that patients are speaking out to highlight the stress the system is under. We hear about frequent petitions by desperate residents wanting to save their local surgeries.

In London, protesters have been seen handing out cherries to highlight the “cherry picking of patients” by some online primary care services which are geared up to deliver care to fitter, healthier, younger patients, leaving the more complex, frailer patients to traditional GP surgeries without sufficient resources to do so.

Communities are worried. They are worried because they value their family doctors and are scared of losing them.

While there has been undeniable progress in the NHS and we have an amazing system that allows people to access free healthcare at the point of need for all, it is clear the system is nearing breaking point.

Relying

We can’t have a system when 14,000 patients in one area are relying on just six GPs to meet their healthcare needs.

The Royal Collage of General Practitoners (RCGP) is doing what we can to improve recruitment to general practice – and we have more GPs in training than ever before.

But it takes a long time to train a GP, and in the meantime our existing workforce is being forced out of the profession due to intense, and increasing workload pressures.

If we are to really face up to this crisis, we must also have a huge cash injection for general practice and for the Government to take our concerns very seriously.

GPs want to do everything that we can for our patients to keep them leading healthier, happier lives but we need more support – our patients are relying on us.