This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
PM told that government must prioritise GP workload
Professor Martin Marshall has told Prime Minister Boris Johnson that his General Election manifesto pledge to deliver 6,000 more full-time equivalent GPs must be realised to make the job of a GP 'doable' again.
The new chair of the Royal College of GPs wrote to Johnson ahead of the Queen's Speech stressing that escalating GP workload must be addressed and that retaining and better supporting GPs must be an initial priority and is ‘essential if GPs are able to continue to provide safe and personalised care in the community’.
Upon becoming Prime Minister in July, Johnson said he would tackle 'three-week waits to see a GP' and has regularly reiterated that the Conservative Party will create 50 million extra GP appointments and deliver 6,000 more full-time equivalent GPs. However, since the initial pledge of 5,000 more GPs by 2020 was made in the GP Forward View in 2016, the number of fully-qualified, full-time equivalent GPs has fallen by more than 1,000, according to the latest figures from NHS Digital.
Marshall said: "Reducing waiting times to see a GP has been a priority for Mr Johnson since his first day as Prime Minister in July. Now that he has been elected to govern the UK for the next five years, this must happen, and it needs to happen in the right way. We were reassured that the Conservative Party manifesto made no reference to the introduction of arbitrary 'targets' for access to GP services. These would only prioritise want over need and increase pressure on a service that it is already stretched to its limits.
"The college looks forward to hearing more details about the government's plans to deliver 6,000 more full-time equivalent GPs – and we also want to know what they plan to do to tackle the underlying reason why GPs are leaving the profession: escalating workload that is simply not doable, and is not safe for GPs, our teams or our patients."
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