As reported by BBC News, GPs in England are now handling 17% more patients than nine years ago, causing rising appointment delays and declining satisfaction
Shortages of doctors mean the average GP in England has to care for 17% more patients than nine years ago, a BBC analysis has shown.
It means for every permanent GP there are more than 2,300 patients – a jump of nearly 350 since 2015, helping explain why access to general practice has been worsening and patient satisfaction declining.
The analysis of NHS data also shows the areas struggling the most have list sizes exceeding 3,000 patients, nearly double those with the most doctors. Experts said the variation was “unwarranted” and put patients’ health at risk.
The government said it was developing plans to train more doctors and relieve some of the pressure by giving pharmacists more responsibilities.
At its annual conference, Royal College of GPs leaders are expected to highlight how access to GPs has declined the most in poor areas.
Prof Kamila Hawthorne, who chairs the RCGP, is expected to tell the conference GP shortages are having a “devastating” impact on the health of local populations and the rise in the number of patients per GP has become unmanageable.
Chief executive of patient watchdog Healthwatch England Louise Ansari said: “Difficulty accessing GP appointments is the number one issue people share with us. And it’s often unpaid carers, disabled people, people on lower incomes and those whose first language isn’t English that face the biggest challenges.”
Satisfaction rates with GP services have plummeted to their lowest level on record and latest figures show one in six patients waiting more than two weeks for an appointment.
NHS England said: “We recognise that too many people struggle to get an appointment as quickly as they would like, and in some parts of the country surgeries are struggling to recruit the staff they need.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said the new government had also cut red tape to make it easier to recruit doctors.
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