Booking appointments with NHS GP is getting more difficult

Booking appointments with NHS GP is getting more difficult

The role of the family doctor is rapidly disappearing from the NHS, with nearly half of patients being seen by different GPs at each appointment.

The scale of the GP crisis is laid bare today by an official NHS report which reveals one in nine patients - 11 per cent- could not get an appointment the last time they tried.

And more than a quarter - 28 per cent - struggled to even get through on the phone to seek an appointment.

When asked how difficult it is to get through to someone at their GP surgery on the phone, 68% said it was was easy, while 18% said it was not very easy and a further 10% said it was not at all easy

When patients do get to see a doctor, only 56 per cent always manage to see their preferred GP, down from 65 per cent five years ago.

Some 9 per cent of patients never see the same doctor, and a further 35 per cent only see their preferred GP some of the time.

Evidence shows having a single family doctor to deliver continuous care is hugely beneficial, particularly for older patients.

This was recognised by the Government in 2014, when ministers announced every patient should have a 'named GP' who is ultimately responsible for their care.

That measure, however, has turned out to be merely ad ministrative, because named doctors are not actually expected to deliver their patients' care.

The GP Patient Survey, which involved detailed responses from 800,000 people across England, reveals trust in GPs remains extremely high, at 92 per cent.

But patients are increasingly frustrated by problems getting appointments.

One in five patients have to wait at least a week to see their doctor - a 56 per cent relative increase on five years ago.

And one in three patients said they have to wait 'a bit too long' or 'far too long' to be seen.

This is having a knock-on impact on emergency services, with 5 per cent of patients who cannot get an appointment going to A&E instead.

Only 3 per cent go to a pharmacist - the route encouraged by NHS officials.

Worryin gly, 15 per cent give up and decide to cope without medical advice.

Tim Gardner, of the Health Foundation think tank, said last night: 'Given the pressures that GPs are under, it is encouraging that the vast majority of people continue to report a good overall experience of their GP surgery.

'However, it is concerning that the number of people always or almost always able to see their preferred GP has fallen from 65.3 per cent to 55.6 per cent over the last five years.

'Health Foundation research has found that older patients who saw the same GP more consistently experienced fewer hospital admissions for conditions that can be managed in primary care.'

The GP Patient Survey, which involved detailed responses from 800,000 people across England, reveals trust in GPs remains extremely high, at 92 per cent 

GP surgeries are under increasing pressure, having to look after a growing, ageing and more demanding population.

A recent paper published in the Lancet found the average NHS patient visits or calls their GP 11 per cent more times in 2017 than they did in 2008.

An audit last month revealed a quarter of appointments are avoidable.

There is also a severe workforce crisis, with research suggesting two in every five GPs are planning to retire or quit their jobs within the next five years.

The Government has pledged to hire 5,000 new GPs by 2020 to make up for an exodus of doctors from the NHS.

But the targ et is in danger of being missed because their number has dropped by more than 400 in recent months, to the equivalent of 34,000 full-time GPs.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: 'Our patients should be able to see a GP when they need to, so it's very concerning that more people are having to wait for longer to get appointments with their GP or practice nurse.

'It is particularly worrying that some patients are deciding not to seek medical advice at all if they are not able to get an appointment initially.

'GPs are working flat out to provide care for as many patients as we possibly can, but there are limits beyond which we can no longer guarantee safe care.'

Dr Richard Vautrey, acting chairman of the British Medical Association GP committee, added: 'These figures reflect the growing impact from the unsustainable pre ssures facing general practice.

'It is unfair on patients across the country that their increasing needs are not being recognised by the government which is failing to address increasing staff shortages and is providing insufficient funding, leaving too many patients waiting longer for the care they need.'

Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: 'The trend revealed by this report is worrying, with growing numbers waiting a week or struggling to get appointments at all.

'There will be no solution unless and until the Government gets serious about investing in the NHS, and even then the path back to consistently high quality in services will be a long one.'

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour's Shadow Health Secretary, added: 'Overworked and underfunded GPs are struggling to cope with rising needs from patients.'

But Dr Arvind Madan, director of primary care for NHS England, said: 'General practice is the foundation of the NHS and this survey shows patients appreciate the fantastic job GPs and the wider primary care work force are doing in times of real pressure with more patients having increasingly complex conditions

'Access to GPs is already expanding with 17 million people now able to get an appointment in the evening and at weekends, and everyone will be able to by March 2019.'

  

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