Scandal of the areas with half as many GPs as others
PATIENTS face a postcode lottery of GP care with some areas served by half the number of doctors per patient as others, figures reveal.
The ‘stark differences’ in NHS provision are today laid bare in analysis by the Nuffield Trust think-tank, which described the inequality as a ‘serious failing’.
It means residents of some towns and cities are likely to face longer waits to see a family doctor, putting their health at risk.
Portsmouth is the worst place in England for GP numbers, with only 39.5 per 100,000 people. That is the equivalent of 2,530 patients for every family doctor, including locums and those still in training.
Meanwhile, Wirral has more GPs per head of population than anywhere else, with 80.7 per 100,000 patients, or 1,238 people per doctor.
‘Represents a serious failing’
GPs in Thurrock, Hull and Brighton also have more than 2,000 patients each, while those in Liverpool, Northumberland and Stockport typically have fewer than 1,400 on their lists.
Billy Palmer, of the Nuffield Trust, said: ‘These disparities mean people in some areas are less able to access their family doctor than people elsewhere... such stark differences represent a serious failing.’
Louise Ansari, national director at patient watchdog Healthwatch England, warned people are likely to pile more pressure on overstretched A&Es when they cannot see a GP.
She added: ‘Growing demand for healthcare services, especially due to the long-term impacts of Covid19, means services like GPs are now facing greater workloads than ever.
‘However, people are still telling us about difficulties getting through to their local practice, with online booking systems, long waits on the phone and a lack of face-to-face appointments providing them with challenges.’ Miss Ansari added that a quarter of the complaints Healthwatch handles from patients now relate to GP services.
The Nuffield Trust analysis, based on figures from NHS Digital for April, comes after a major survey revealed patient satisfaction with GP surgeries has plummeted to its lowest ever level.
There is a still a two-fold difference in GP rates between the top and bottom areas even after accounting for the age and health of local populations, which factors in how often patients are likely to need a GP.
Dr Lisa Nayler, from the Rebuild General Practice campaign, said: ‘The number of patients per GP is rising to unsafe and unmanageable levels. The data shows that the crisis is more acute in some regions than others, but the truth is that there is a GP workforce emergency across the whole of Great Britain.
‘There are now on average 2,200 patients for every GP in England and patients are not receiving the safe, quality care they deserve.’
The Department of Health said it is ‘working hard to support and grow the workforce’. A record-breaking number of doctors started GP training last year and the Government has invested £520million to expand GP capacity during Covid, it added.
÷ The number of violent incidents recorded by police at GP surgeries and health centres has almost doubled in the past five years.
There were 1,068 cases from 2020 to 2021 compared with 586 from 2017 to 2018, figures from forces show. These included stalking and harassment, an investigation by the BMJ reveals.