DAUK GP lead Dr Lizzie Toberty has published a piece in The Times on her experience as a GP and the marked decline in the ability of the NHS to provide effective care for patients.
Dr Toberty says, “We, as GPs and health professionals, for too long have stood in the gap between lack of resources and patient needs. We have put our heads down, worked harder and longer. But we cannot do it any more. We are tired.”
“We are human beings and we do have a limit. That is why it is so disappointing to see soundbites, rather than well-thought-out policy, and targets rather than resources. What we have seen is not a developed, considered plan to save the NHS. It represents on-the-hoof thinking by a government that does not have any idea what the actual cause of the access problems are. Most of the ideas have already been tried.”
“Thérèse Coffey seems to have developed this plan without actually speaking to any GPs, practice nurses or managers. How can we provide meaningful change for patients when those making the policies do not engage with our union, our college or the people “on the ground”?”
Read the full article here.
