Surgery’s ‘burnout’ warning as it makes changes to help GPS
ACHELTENHAM doctors’ surgery says its GPS are working 12-hour shifts without proper breaks.
Berkeley Place Surgery has warned that doctors are “very close to burnout” and that changes have to be made if the service it provides is not to fail.
Dr Jim Ropner sent a strongly-worded letter to the surgery’s patients, warning them about the situation.
It informed patients about a key change to its appointments system, to take effect from November 1, designed to take some of the pressure off the stressed GPS.
Patients will have to wait longer for a routine appointment. The surgery will also be enforcing a much stricter definition of what constitutes an urgent appointment on its triage system.
It says that if people are acutely unwell, their case will still be reviewed on the same day but if they are not then they will need to wait for a routine appointment.
Dr Ropner said: “The reason that this change has to happen is because we are all finding it impossible to manage the demand as the system runs currently.
“A normal day for a GP now routinely runs over 12 hours without any meaningful breaks, and this is neither safe for our patients, nor sustainable for us and our team.”
He said the surgery’s patient list had grown dramatically over the last few years, and despite taking on new staff, it was never enough to meet demand.
A national shortage of both doctors and nurses meant it was struggling to recruit, and even getting locum doctor cover was extremely hard.
He said: “If we continue as we are then the service will fail. We are aware that a number of staff including myself are very close to burnout, and the steps that we are taking are aimed at preserving the staff we currently have and trying to help us recruit more.
“I hope that these changes will not be forever but something fundamental needs to happen to the way the NHS is run for us to be able to go back to the way the service was before.”
Dr Ropner stressed that the surgery had been able to grow its clinical team with highly skilled professionals and added: “We all care passionately about providing the best service that we are able to and will continue to do the best we can in the impossible situation that we are all in.”
Staffing issues might be causing the surgery major problems but at least it has a brand new home on the way.
A new building in Prestbury Road is being constructed.
It will become the new Wilson Health Centre and will be home to Berkeley Place Surgery, Prestbury Park Medical (formerly Crescent Bakery) and Royal Crescent Surgery, from early next year.