A shortage of doctors has left individual GPs in our region responsible for as many as 4,000 patients, figures have revealed
This is an edited version of an article first published by Eastern Daily Press.
NHS data has revealed the average number of patients per GP for 104 practices in Norfolk and Waveney, with 70 per cent of surgeries above the national average of 1,721 patients per GP.
The highest figure for a surgery with at least one full-time GP was Beaches Medical Centre in Gorleston. The surgery has the equivalent of six full-time GPs, responsible for an average of 4,210 patients each.
The figures have prompted the chair of the Royal College of GPs to call on the government to urgently deliver its pledge of 6,000 new doctors before people leave the profession or burn out.
Nationally, the number of permanent fully qualified GPs in England have fallen by more than 1,000 since 2015.
The data has used the full time equivalent (FTE) to measure the hours worked by each GP to reflect staffing levels.
Some of the area’s practices are branch practices or part of a wider partnership with GPs working across various sites.
Professor Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “For too many GPs, workload pressures mean that the job is not do-able, meaning that patients don’t receive the care they need and leading to burn out and GPs leaving the profession earlier than planned.
“It is not right or safe that some GPs are responsible for looking after so many patients, as this investigation has found – it is inevitable that this will have a stark impact on the length of time patients are waiting for an appointment.”
A spokesman for Norfolk and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said GPs were not the only providers of care, and patients could access help from other health professionals.
“These days GP practices rely on a huge range of skilled clinical staff to provide patient care, not just GPs themselves.
“Our aim is for Norfolk and Waveney to be the best place to develop and train.”
Boughton Surgery, in King’s Lynn, was among the lowest patients per doctor, with 1,036 per GP.
But, practice manager Steve Leadbitter said it was at its maximum and could not expand due to underfunding. He said: “It’s a very busy surgery. Although we only have 3,000 patients every clinic is full every day.
“The very big problem is under investment in premises in the NHS. It’s a constant issue, we have the Government putting money into the NHS it never seems to get down to GP surgeries. I would love to know where these 5,000 GPs the government promise will come from.”
“Stress levels are high. You have got as many practice managers as GPs taking early retirement due to the stress levels.” Patients have praised the work of the area’s surgeries and GPs.
Figures show surgeries across Norfolk and Waveney are in high demand, with thousands of patients per doctor. However, when patient were asked for their experience of surgeries and GPs in the area, the response was positive.
Jess Ford, who attends the St Stephen’s Gate Medical Practice, was unaware she had shingles when she made an appointment before Christmas and was told by staff to come in for an urgent appointment.
She said: “I didn’t know at this point, and I’d had pain for a week and I had no idea what it was. If I’d had to wait over the weekend I wouldn’t have been able to take the antivirals and it would have been much worse.
“I feel horrible hearing others’ experiences, especially if they need urgent care and I’m saying that if they go to their doctors and tell them that, insert medical condition here, is urgent as they’ll get seen straightaway, when that simply won’t be the case at their surgery. It’s really frustrating.”
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