Fly-on-wall glimpse at ‘Doomsday’ GP surgeries
DOCTORS have warned of a ‘Doomsday scenario’ if the NHS crisis forces GP surgeries to shut.
A BBC documentary series will reveal the daily struggles of family doctors at a clinic in Moray.
The Elgin Health Centre is facing long-term uncertainty, with some GPs retiring and a lack of replacements for them.
one in four GP clinics in Scotland has at least one vacancy and a third of the country’s family doctors plan to retire in the next five years.
Doctors at the Elgin centre agreed to open their doors to a camera crew in an effort to help patients understand the realities of the crisis.
The documentary shows the knockon effects after a partner accepts a part-time post in medical education that means cutting his hours at work. With two GPs nearing retirement, the surgery could be left with only three doctors. It may face closure as a result because they would struggle to cope with rising patient numbers.
ron Stewart, senior partner in the practice, who aims to retire in three years, said: ‘What happens if we lose a GP and the list size is going up? It’s kind of the Doomsday scenario. It’s a really worrying time.
‘I don’t see a short-term solution to the lack of GPs. We are putting increasing emphasis on assistance from specialised nurses, paramedics etc. I do worry about the future.
‘In three years’ time I’m going to become a patient. I’m going to be one of the increasing number of old wrinklies putting the demands on the NHS. There are different things we are trying to deal with in this tidal wave of stuff that’s coming.
‘I think back to the halcyon days when we would advertise and get 30 or 40 replies. Now we get no applicants.’
Explaining his decision to take part in the documentary, Dr Stewart said: ‘This was something we thought long and hard about. There was fear and trepidation. But there is a bit of a crisis across the country in general practice and we hope that by letting the cameras in, it would give a fair reflection that there are some positives to working in general practice.
‘Within the NHS, things are difficult and it is difficult for patients to understand the problems, so this was to try to explain to patients why receptionists are asking them about the nature of their problem, or why they are not getting to see the GP as much any more. The problems of our practice are the problems across Scotland. We have a bulge of baby boomers retiring and we are struggling to get new applicants. our problems are not unique.’
The first episode of the three-part series The Family Doctors will be shown on BBC Two Scotland at 9pm tomorrow.
The Scottish Government has proposed a new contract for GPs aimed at attracting more of them into the profession by offering a minimum income of £80,000.
Health Secretary Shona robison said: ‘We are aiming to increase the number of GPs by at least 800 over the next ten years to ensure a sustainable service that meets increasing demand.
‘ The new GP contract will, if accepted, help cut doctors’ workload and make general practice an even more attractive career. We are investing £110million in 2018-19 to support implementation of the GP contract and wider primary care reform.’