We are pulling our weight during this crisis, GPS insist

FAMILY doctors have insisted they are “pulling their weight” during the pandemic after being warned to stop refusing to see patients face to face.

A coalition of nearly 1,000 family doctors has attacked the “widespread public impression that GPS are choosing to avoid seeing patients” in a letter to The Daily Telegraph today.

“Many patients seem to be under the impression that GPS are not pulling their weight,” they write. “We have and will always see a patient in person if that is what is needed.”

It comes after the NHS ordered GPS to give patients face-to-face appointments and warned they would come under investigation if care was denied.

sir – As UK GPS, we were alarmed to see the letter (October 23) from a doctor about his work for a private GP clinic in London.

The doctor is apparently inundated with patients who cannot see an NHS doctor face to face. This chimes with a widespread public impression that GPS are choosing to avoid seeing patients in this way.

In fact, we have been following Government guidance, requiring us to keep patients safe during the pandemic by consulting remotely wherever possible, but we have and will always see a patient in person if that is what is needed to make a diagnosis or administer treatment.

Many patients seem to be under the impression that GPS are not pulling their weight during the pandemic. In fact, there have been a million more patient consultations in primary care this September than in the same month last year – a 4 per cent increase – and over half of these are face to face.

GP practices face increasing workloads due to hospital delays, the new cohort of “long-covid” patients and rising numbers with mental health problems. This extra load on primary care is exacerbated by workforce issues, with many doctors and staff having to self-isolate.

GPS cherish the strong relationships we have with our patients and know these are key to providing the best quality healthcare. Unfortunately, the challenges of the pandemic and a growing negativity towards GPS are straining these relationships, and letters like the one you published fuel mistrust among the general public.

A better understanding of the real situation faced by GPS will be vital as we all navigate the immense challenges of the winter ahead.

Dr Susannah Harris

Dr Anna Kirby

Dr Kamal Sidhu

Dr Jennifer Graham

Dr Gareth Kelly and 953 other GPS and 43 healthcare colleagues; see telegraph.co.uk