GP practices are an intrinsic part of the UK’s health system. Usually the first point of contact for patients with non-emergency medical issues, yet GPs are facing increasing pressures amid a lack of focused funding toward surgeries.
Despite their vital role, GP practises continually are struggling to cope with the ongoing crisis, impacting both patients and staff.
GP surgeries have seen an alarming lack of focused funding. This has particularly impacted the workforce, resources, and ability to meet the needs of the UK’s growing population. The number of patients to GPs has risen to 1 GP to 2300 patients.
However, 61% of people looking for GP jobs have found it either “moderately” or “very” difficult to find a job as a GP. As a result, burnout is becoming increasingly common for practitioners, pushing more GPs away from the profession.
Some GP surgeries have turned to taking work to rule action, with 26% limiting the amount of patients GPs can see per day to 25. A further 25% of GP surgeries said they believed this would harm surgeries short term.
The number of patients to GPs has risen to 1 GP to 2300 patients.
For patients, it is harder to get appointments. With GPs being the usual first point of contact for patients, this means it is taking longer for patients to get care they require. This has particular impacts on those who cannot access private healthcare, or those who live in an area with less GP surgeries - particularly rural areas.
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."
This demonstrates a disproportionate impact on vulnerable people in society, making it clear the lack of funding is not just failing staff, but also people who need healthcare the most.
These issues are relevant to both those working in surgeries and patients. The staff in GPs are working with far too many patients that is sustainable, and if the cycle continues, it could leave large parts of the UK population with limited healthcare.