100 GP surgeries close in a year

ALMOST 100 GP surgeries shut down last year, forcing an estimated 260,000 patients to find new doctors in the middle of the pandemic.

Some 778 practices have closed or merged since 2013, meaning almost 2.5million patients have been affected in seven years, according to figures released today.

Experts said the closures were hitting the most vulnerable hardest with many patients, particularly elderly ones, facing long journeys to see a family doctor – if they can get an appointment.

GP leaders blamed a national shortage of GPs, rising workloads and lack of investment for the closures. They warned that the situation is only likely to get worse with practices ‘just two resignations away from collapse’.

It comes as a separate survey revealed that patients are increasingly struggling to get faceto-face appointments with family doctors.

While access to non-covid healthcare has generally improved since last year, a report by the Patients association found problems with primary care are getting worse.

It said: ‘GPs are the front door to the NHS, and patients are increasingly perceiving that that door is closed to them.’

In 2013 just 18 surgeries shut across the UK. But by last year the annual total had risen more than five-fold to 96, affecting an estimated 263,280 patients, according to data obtained by Pulse magazine. In 2019 the total was 99, according to responses to freedom of information requests by 124 local clinical commissioning groups.

Between 2013 and 2020, a total of 778 practices closed their doors – including branch closures and those that shut due to mergers – meaning an esti

‘Just two resignations away from a collapse’

mated 2,494,700 patients were forced to move. There are no official figures on whether any new surgeries are opening, but GP sources stressed that this was unlikely, and numbers would be minimal.

Professor Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal college of GPs, said the closures showed the pressures many GPs were under, even before coronavirus struck.

Since then, they have been integral to the vaccine rollout. The closures were ‘a last resort’ and likely to ‘be distressing for the millions of patients who have lost the practice they are familiar with’.

He said: ‘General practice was dealing with an unsustainable workload, and practices were struggling to recruit sufficient numbers of GPs and staff to handle it, before the pandemic. The pandemic has only exacerbated these pressures.’

Meanwhile, the Patients association warned that gaining access to GP services continues to be a struggle, with many patients dissatisfied with remote telephone or internet consultations.

The charity wants face-to-face contact to be restored as the default form of GP appointment, with remote consultations offered as an option for those who prefer them. It said: ‘Roughly half of respondents felt their care or experience was not as good as it would have been otherwise, while only 16 per cent felt it was better.’

an NHS spokesman said: ‘This represents a small number of practices and some closures are the result of mergers. GP teams have faced challenges during covid-19, which is why we have created a range of financial and practical measures to support practices and staff, such as coaching and mentoring, and £270million to expand general practice capacity during the pandemic.’

IT wasn’t so long ago that, if you felt poorly, you could see a family doctor at any time, morning to evening, seven days a week.

Today, the GP service – the foundation stone of the NHS – is at risk of crumbling.

Last year alone, nearly 100 surgeries closed – almost two a week. That means 260,000 patients, often the most elderly or vulnerable, are forced to make longer journeys for face-to-face appointments.

If, of course, they are lucky enough to get one. Blaming the pandemic, clinics have locked their doors, with most consultations by telephone or Skype.

Yes, technology has its place. But many signs of illness are only detectable by sight or touch. And those who are uncomfortable with virtual appointments may find this an obstacle to reporting symptoms – with lifethreatening conditions going untreated.

GPs should now reopen surgeries for the wellbeing of their patients.

The Covid crisis has added strain to a system already creaking at the seams.

To meet the demand of our rising and ageing population, we must have more doctors. Currently, not enough graduates can find places at medical school.

And too many GPs – thanks to Labour’s lamentable contracts – retire early, work part-time or refuse evening and weekend calls. Ministers and NHS chiefs must solve this problem. The health of patients must come first – not a poor second.