Richard Gilpin
2 minutes read
DAUK’s cross-party briefing for MPs to explain what it says is a crisis facing primary care in the second wave of the pandemic was reported on the Medscape news review. It reports how DAUK’s survey of nearly 900 GPs found:
- 55% are not confident of access to adequate PPE
- 52% say their current premises are not suitable to cater for COVID and non-COVID patients at the same time
- 72% reported problems with patients not having access to Wifi or mobile data for video consultations
- 78% felt that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted negatively on their mental health
- 48% felt unsupported by NHS England
- 42% had problems delivering the seasonal flu vaccination programme – with 78% of those having supply problems
DAUK committee member and GP, Dr Vinesh Patel, commented:
“We spoke to MPs about the important issues those working on the ground in primary care are facing such as reduced capacity to see ‘hot’ patients in the run-up to winter, the impact of digital deprivation on our patients, a rising workforce and its undeniable pressures on the mental health of primary care staff, as well as the disconnect between media messages and what is actually going on in primary care.”
The article can be found here (registration required)
