Rising patient numbers threaten to overwhelm GPs

Doctors and patient groups are warning that increasing numbers of patients needing care and a shortage of GPs is threatening to overwhelm the system.

Analysis of NHS England data by the Health Foundation found that more than 28 million appointments were booked in March, among the highest recorded, with doctors feeling like they are being asked to achieve the ‘undoable’.

The data found that that between 2019-20 and 2020-21 the total number of appointments dropped by 10 per cent - meaning 31 million fewer consultations with GPs and practice nurses. On top of this, over the same time period, there was a major shift from face-to-face to remote consultation, with the proportion seen in practices dropping from 79 per cent to 54 per cent.
    
According to the BBC, the number of patients referred by GPs for urgent cancer check-ups dropped by 15 per cent, putting lives at risk - potentially 367,000 people with symptoms who have not been sent for further investigations.

There were 279 million appointments made with GP practices in England from April 2020 to March 2021, compared with 310 million the year before. The biggest drops were seen in the Midlands, North East, Yorkshire and East of England, according to the Health Foundation analysis.