Throwing cash at GPs just won’t help

GP VACANCY rates are at record levels, with one in eight posts empty and increasing numbers of practices finding it simply impossible to recruit. Latest figures show one million patients a week are unable to get an appointment, with one in five waiting at least a week to see a GP — a 56 per cent rise in five years.

This week, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt revealed plans to give GPs a ‘golden hello’ of £20,000 in a bid to encourage them to work in parts of the country struggling to recruit. While something has to be done, and quickly, I’m not convinced a cash bung is going to solve the crisis. After all, what’s to stop them taking the money and leaving soon after?

This problem is not new. When the NHS was introduced, GPs had to be redistributed from affluent towns to areas that needed them most. Financial incentives were offered, but it soon became apparent they were not the answer and did not attract the best candidates.

Instead, it was noted that ‘the good doctor will only be attracted into industrial practice by providing conditions which will enable him to do good work’. In other words, for a post to be appealing, the area has to have the adequate infrastructure and resources to enable them to practise medicine effectively.

Therefore, perhaps the cash would be better spent on improving resources in deprived areas, which would not only make working there more appealing, but would benefit the whole community. The other factor was the background of doctors. Then, as now, medicine tended to attract people from affluent towns who, after qualifying, returned home. Despite attempts to increase access to higher education, for the most part a degree in medicine remains the preserve of the wealthy — it is a long course and, therefore, financially more prohibitive. Careful investment and support in deprived communities is what’s needed — not just throwing more cash at GPs.