Content originally from The King’s Fund
GPs aren’t working hard enough to meet demand for appointments
Myth
There has been widespread criticism of general practice in the media over recent months focusing on patients being unable to get appointments, with GPs accused of not working hard enough to address this.
The facts
General practice delivered 27.5 million appointments in May 2022, with 18 million of these face to face and 12 million on the same day they were booked. However, demand for appointments is outstripping supply, resulting in frustration for patients, unsustainable workload for staff, and inevitably, unmet need.
The issues around access to appointments in general practice are not new but have intensified in recent months. Over time, demand for appointments has increased, while a combination of an increasingly complex caseload, rising thresholds for referral to other parts of the system and an increasing administrative burden have all contributed to growing pressures. This has been exacerbated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic which has increased GP workloads, while the elective backlog means that general practice is being required to manage more complex needs while unable to unlock access to other services.
Recent analysis suggests that in 2021/22 there was a shortage of around 4,200 GPs in permanent roles, despite the increased numbers of GPs in training.
These pressures are affecting patients’ experience of general practice, with surveys showing a significant decline in patient and public satisfaction with GP services. The most recent GP Patient Survey found that only 56 per cent of respondents reported a good experience of making an appointment, 9 percentage points worse than the 2020 results. Significantly, more than one in four patients said they had avoided making a GP appointment in the past 12 months because they found it too difficult.
Many of the challenges patients face accessing their GP stem from chronic staff shortages. General practice has been facing significant workforce pressures for a number of years. Recent analysis suggests that in 2021/22 there was a shortage of around 4,200 GPs in permanent roles, despite the increased numbers of GPs in training. While the deployment of additional roles brings some further capacity, it is clear that the government’s 2019 manifesto pledge to deliver 6,000 more GPs by 2024/25 will not be met. On top of this, fewer GPs are choosing to undertake full-time clinical work in general practice, while large numbers are retiring and leaving the profession – with burnout playing a role in these decisions.
Verdict
General practice is in crisis because of difficulties in recruiting and retaining GPs, alongside a growing and increasingly complex workload. As a result, GPs are working harder than ever before, but patients are still finding it difficult to get appointments.
SWF Health & Social Care Group 