GPS switch to ‘emergency only’ care as crisis grows
● Some surgeries taking ‘never before seen’ measures to cope with pressure
GPS are being forced to text patients and warn them they can only take emergency appointments as pressure grows, a doctors’ union has revealed.
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Scotland has warned GPS are “depleted and demoralised” and under “sustained pressure on multiple fronts”.
The Scottish Government’s failure to retain and recruit GPS has led to doctors implementing “never before seen” emergency measures in surgeries, the college’s joint chair Dr Chris Williams has said.
The admission comes less than a
fortnight after the worstever figures for accident-andemergency (A&E) waiting times were published. More than 9,600 patients waited over four hours in an emergency department in Scotland in the final week of October.
Dr Williams has called on the Scottish Government to give “purposeful and simultaneous attention” to the “profound issues of workload, workforce, and welfare within general practice”.
“With the ongoing effects of the pandemic, a possible resurgence of the flu and the cost-of living crisis, gps are bracing for a very challenging winter, with serious concerns for the impact on patient care,” he said.
"Contrary to some reports, general practice has been open throughout the pandemic. While RCGP Scotland agrees that there should be an appropriate mix of appointment types and booking methods available to patients, the ability for practices to provide this is constrained by GP capacity.
"We simply do not have enough GPS and demand has reached sky-high levels. GPS and their teams are measures, which have never before been seen in order to sustain their practices.”
The RCGP further warned some of its members are putting off chronic disease management, and prioritising emergency work, with some members reaching out to patients via text message, warning them their surgeries will only give out emergency appointments for the time being.
Dr williams said :" when combined with disappointing funding withdrawal s from the Scottish Government and repeated messaging that patients are frustrated, Scotland's GP workforce has been left demoralised. the issues of recruitment and retention are inherently intertwined and require purposeful and simultaneous attention from the Scottish Government if we are to change course.
"Short-term fixes to the health system must be paired with long-term strategic planning from the Scottish Government to address the profound issues of workload, workforce and welfare within general practice."
Dr Andrew Buist, chair of the British Medical Association's (BMA) Scotland GP committee, said some GPS were “facing abuse from frustrated patients ”. He called for recent Scottish Government funding cuts of up to £70 million to be reversed.
The BMA has said there are an estimated 312 whole-time equivalent vacancies across gp practices in Scotland.
“We’ve been saying for some time that greater investment for the recruitment of more GPS, and a clear focus on keeping those we already have, is essentialto tack ling the current pressures being seen in practices across Scotland,” Dr Buist aid. “The results of our recent survey of practices reiterate our previous warnings around the increasing demands GPS and their teams face.
“Demand is still significantly outstripping capacity, with more than a third of practices that responded to the survey reporting having at least one GP vacancy – up from just over a quarter this time last year. The situation has only continued to deteriorate.”