Fears of cancer ‘time bomb’ as patients stay away from GPS
GP SURGERIES are “shutting out” patients despite a fall in deaths from coronavirus, raising fears that potentially serious illnesses are going undetected.
Clinicians and patients’ groups have warned that many people are still either too afraid to visit their doctor or have been told no face-to-face appointments are available as part of continued social distancing measures.
Rachel Power, the chief executive of the Patients’ Association, said: “Some patients are effectively shut out from GP services, which risks health issues going undetected and untreated.”
Figures from the Royal College of GPS show that in the four weeks to April 12 routine GP clinical activity fell by 25 per cent on the same period in 2019, although it has now returned to near-normal levels.
However, surgeons have told The Daily Telegraph that the number of patients referred to them by GPS for treatment has plummeted by as much as 50 per cent, building up a potential time bomb of ill health and death across the population in years to come.
NHS Digital’s GP appointment data shows that from March to July inclusive there were an estimated 102million appointments in general practice, though only just over half (52million) were face to face.
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh says it fears a sharp increase in fatalities because conditions such as cancer will have gone undiagnosed. Prof Michael Griffin, college president, said: “There will be large numbers of patients who will die.”
The college, which has members across Britain, has called for a nationwide campaign to reassure people it is safe to use their GPS and hospitals.
The latest figures, obtained by the Health Service Journal, show that the national rolling weekly total for Covid-19 fatalities in hospitals in Eng- land stood at 183 on July 3. That is 97 per cent lower than the peak of 5,488 recorded on April 11.
An NHS spokesman said: “Face-toface appointments remain available for everyone who needs one, with over 50million delivered by GPS and their teams over the course of the pandemic, in addition to a three-fold increase in remote consultations which offer a convenient, safe option to access care.”