IN MY VIEW...MY SOLUTION TO THE GP CRISIS

JUST ten per cent of junior doctors want to become GPs, a new survey for the British Medical Association has found.

As the UK Government has said it wants half of medical graduates to go into general practice, this presents a worrying shortfall — NHS Scotland last week warned 1 in 4 GP surgeries is understaffed. (Until relatively recently, most GPs wanted to be partners — essentially contractors who run their surgeries as independent small businesses.)

General practice used to be an attractive option. When I completed my postgraduate training, there were over 50 applicants for every GP partnership post. It was intensely competitive and becoming a partner was seen as a commitment for life, like marriage.

But young doctors today are clearly not drawn, not least because of the added risks and uncertainties of the business on top of all the admin, as well as the appraisals all doctors must go through. The doctoring bit we all joined up to do is increasingly squeezed.

Half of those who do opt for general practice prefer salaried posts, with a promise of a better work-life balance.

The authorities are clearly aware of the problems. Westminster health secretary Jeremy Hunt has said ‘we are doing what we can to reinvigorate the partnership model’, but to me this just says they’re out of touch with why doctors are rejecting that model.

In fact I think a shift towards salaried GPs is inevitable and a good thing, as the salaried doctor is able to concentrate on what matters: caring for the patient. Patients gain, too, from a doctor who is just doctoring.

It might be just what is needed to entice more young doctors into general practice. Putting all GPs on a salary could also deal with the problem of out-of-hours care. Instead of trying to revitalise the moribund partnership, it’s time for an intelligent rethink.