healthmedicinet

23 March 2014
Last updated at 04:45

GPs have been the bedrock of the NHS, says the royal college

A funding crisis and increased demand for care means general practice as patients know it in the UK is “under severe threat of extinction”, the head of the Royal College of GPs has warned.

The royal college’s president, Dr Maureen Baker, said: “It is imploding faster than people realise.”

Failing to properly fund GP surgeries could have an impact on the sustainability of the NHS, she added.

The Department of Health said they recognised the “vital” job GPs do.

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We are fiddling while Rome burns and the four Governments of the UK must wake up to the critical state that general practice is now in”

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Dr Maureen Baker
RCGP chairwoman

“General practice as we know it is now under severe threat of extinction,” said Dr Baker. “It is imploding faster than people realise and patients are already bearing the brunt of the problem.”

She urged governments in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast to take action to address the “huge and historic imbalance in funding”.

Dr Baker said: “For generations, GPs have been the bedrock of the NHS and provided excellent care for patients.

“But we can no longer guarantee a future for general practice as our patients know it, rely on it – and love it.

“GPs are doing all they can but we are being seriously crippled by a toxic mix of increasing workloads and ever-dwindling budgets, which is leaving patients waiting too long for an appointment and not receiving the time or attention they need and that GPs want to give them.”

‘Grave concerns’

Funding for GPs is vital to protect the future of the NHS as a whole, Dr Baker said.

“Cutting funding to the bone is a false economy – by investing in general practice, we are shoring up the rest of the NHS from collapse,” she added.

“We are fiddling while Rome burns and the four governments of the UK must wake up to the critical state that general practice is now in.”

If there is not sufficient funding in the 2014/15 budget rounds, the RCGP has “grave concerns for the sustainability of the NHS”, according to its chairwoman.

Dr Baker also told BBC Radio 5 live Breakfast that while budgets had dwindled over the past three years, demand for GP services was increasing – from 300 million consultations in 2008 to 340 million in 2012.

Earlier this week, she said the chancellor’s Budget had been “another blow for patients and general practice”, accusing him of failing to address “the massive funding gap”.

Increase in trainees

An RCGP survey found that 62% of 1,007 people questioned thought the number of consultations carried out by GPs each day, believed to be between 40 and 60 in most cases, risks the standard of patient care they provide.

More than a quarter, 28%, said the last time they tried to book an appointment with their doctor they could not get one in the same week.

Four in 10 were worried that the amount of time they have to wait to see their GP could affect their health.

The poll, carried out by ComRes, also showed that 60% of the public want funding moved to general practice from other parts of the health service.

While general practice deals with 90% of patient contact, it only receives 8.39% of the overall NHS budget, the RCGP said.

A DoH spokesperson said: “We recognise the vital job that GPs do.

“This is why we have cut GPs’ targets by more than a third to free up more time with patients, and are dramatically increasing trainees so that GP numbers continue to grow faster than the population.”