You may be finding it harder to get an appointment with your chosen doctor as quickly as either you, or we, would like.
We’d like to explain why.
Family Doctors have more work to do
Last year there were 17.4 million visits to A&E in England but 367 million GP consultations in England, up from 340 million 5 years ago. The number of GPs has remained the same.
The number of patients that GP practices are caring for is increasing and as the population is aging people have more complex health problems. Meanwhile, your GP is being asked to do more and more work for hospitals because they are also under pressure and have long waiting lists. But successive governments have given doctors more paperwork, so we have actually have less time to spend with patients. Online appointments are now a “must do” which means fewer face-to-face appointments.
General Practices do 90% of the consultations in the NHS on less than 8% of the budget
10 years ago, it was 10% of the budget. Unfortunately, many young doctors don’t want to become GPs and existing GPs are leaving the profession early. GPs are also needed for jobs away from the surgery. So we may not be able to provide as many appointments as people want.
This means
You may have to wait longer to see your GP, or that another healthcare professional within the team may see you. We will do our best to ensure you get all the services you need, though we cannot promise they will necessarily be exactly what you want.
Please help us to help you
We understand that you may be worried or frustrated by delays but please be patient and kind to our staff team, it isn’t their fault. Don’t believe the bad press, please share these facts with others and speak to your MP and your patient participation group. With your help we will aim to get on with what we have been trained to do: help you and your family get well, keep well and stay well.