GP patients being seen ‘far too late’
Figures show people in Bath and North East Somerset are facing “alarmingly” long waits to see their doctors.
Research by the Liberal Democrat Party suggested that around 108,000 patients waited more than a fortnight to see a GP in September. This accounted for nearly a quarter of all family doctor appointments and represented a rise of six per cent since January.
Nationwide, over five million people waited more than two weeks for a doctor’s appointment in September, making up 17.9 per cent of all GP visits.
Bath MP Wera Hobhouse said the figures were “alarming” and that patients in her city were being “let down”. She has called on the government to focus on retention and recruitment across the NHS. She said that enlarging the workforce would reduce GPS’ workload and protect them from burnout.
The Lib Dems have also proposed reforming the pensions system to encourage doctors to stay in their jobs for longer, and recruiting 8,000 more GPS to provide 65 million extra appointments annually.
The party said this would be done by:
Increasing training places for GPS and medical school places across the country;
Making it more attractive for junior doctors to become GPS once they have been trained, including career development and training programmes;
Retaining experienced GPS and helping them stay in the profession by fixing the broken NHS pension rules;
Launching a scheme to encourage GPS and nurses who have left the NHS to return.
The Lib Dems say the government should free up GPS’ time by:
Giving more prescribing rights and public health advisory services to qualified pharmacists, nurse practitioners and appropriately
trained paramedics;
Introducing a 24/7 GP booking line, so that you can make an appointment whenever you need to - and get seen within 24 hours if you have an urgent need;
Empowering GPS to spend more of their budgets as they see fit by removing top-down bureaucracy. They know best how to deploy their resources to get the best care for their patients. Practices should be allowed more autonomy to hire the staff they need, including nurses, and invest in training needed.
Ms Hobhouse said: “These alarming figures show our local health service is being driven into the ground under this Conservative Government. Behind these statistics are so many people and families
in Bath anxiously waiting for an appointment for worrying symptoms. Many are being seen far, far too late.
“I am proud that Liberal Democrats have put forward a credible plan to ensure that our neglected health service can finally be fixed. It should be implemented with urgency to save our local health service and finally give people in Bath a fair deal.
“Every day the Government’s promises become more and more hollow. The sad truth is they’re disinterested in our NHS and refuse to take action to pull it back from the brink. People here in Bath will pay the price if this Government continues to take us for granted and sit on their hands.”