Experienced GPs stand ready to solve the staffing crisis in general practice but a lack of Government funding has resulted in a shortage of family doctors, says the DAUK.
The Doctors’ Association UK’s (DAUK) GP Committee says the shortages of GPs is because practices are not being funded to retain, employ, or increase their capacity.
The committee was responding to BBC analysis which found that the average GP in England has to care for 17 per cent more patients than nine years ago.
According to the BBC online report, for every permanent GP there are more than 2,300 patients, a rise of nearly 350 since 2015, with some areas exceeding 3,000 patients. The widely recognised safe limit is one GP to 1,800 patients.
Dr Steve Taylor, DAUK’s GP spokesperson, said the figures do not tell the whole story.
Shortage of GPs
He said: “Although there are fewer GPs working, and it’s often worse in areas of deprivation, the cold reality is that there is a shortage of funding not general practitioners.
“Many GPs are now finding it increasingly difficult to get work and some are even taking on roles outside of medicine to pay the bills.
“NHS England has cut funding to GP practices by 20 per cent per patient in the past eight years alone.
“GPs themselves are earning 20 per cent less in real terms and practices don’t have the funds to retain, recruit, or expand their GP roles.
“Instead NHS England has moved funding into other roles via the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) at the expense of GPs.”
Dr Ellen Welch, DAUK’s vice chair and a GP in Cumbria, said: “We currently have GPs who are unemployed and on benefits who cannot get the work they have been trained to do.
“I lost work as a locum at the start of the year as the practice was given Government funding to employ a pharmacist instead of a locum GP.”
Unemployed
Dr Lizzie Toberty, DAUK’s GP lead said a ‘fundamental shift in thinking towards retention’ was needed.
“We have full training schemes, we have unemployed GPs, and we need meaningful jobs for them to go into,” said Dr Toberty.
“The addition of GPs to the ARRS up to March is too little, too late and is only for newly-qualified GPs.
“There are GPs with 20 to 30 years’ experience who can’t get jobs or are being made redundant by some companies who are taking over practices and trying to run them with nurses, paramedics, and physician associates with just a GP to oversee them.
“We need achievable, worthwhile and meaningful careers for GPs to aid retention, and ultimately continuity of care which has the potential to save the NHS a fortune.”
