GP appointments surge by 4m as NHS loses tons of of GPs

The complete-time equal (FTE), totally certified GP workforce fell to 27,769 in March 2022 – down 369 in contrast with the identical month in 2021, official knowledge from NHS Digital present.

Information on appointments – excluding COVID-19 vaccination work – present that this depleted workforce is managing a pointy rise in demand, with practices delivering a complete of 29,670,000 appointments in March this 12 months, 9% above the whole for a similar month in 2021. Appointments for March this 12 months have been up greater than 4m in contrast with February.

The figures imply that normal observe delivered 10% extra appointments per FTE fully-qualified GP this March in contrast with March 2021. This large surge in demand got here at a time when many GP practices have been reporting workforces considerably depleted by COVID-19 absences.

GP workforce

BMA England GP committee deputy chair Dr Kieran Sharrock mentioned: ‘Final month appointments in England have been up by 4 million – whereas GP numbers continued to spiral downwards. That is utterly untenable for practices, for GPs and for sufferers.

‘In contrast with this time a 12 months in the past, England has the equal of 369 fewer full-time, totally certified GPs – having misplaced 30 in the newest month alone. This implies every day there may be one much less physician for sufferers to see.

‘On prime of that, we've got misplaced virtually 1,600, fully-qualified, full-time equal GPs since 2015.

‘This pattern, of demand rocketing whereas we haemorrhage medical doctors, is pushing the remaining employees to breaking level as they tackle increasingly more every day, to a degree which isn't protected for them and definitely not protected for sufferers.

NHS demand

‘The entire healthcare system is underneath stress like by no means earlier than, with document waits for operations and procedures, that means extra sufferers ready typically in an enormous deal of ache and looking for help from their observe.

‘Whereas at present’s figures display observe employees going above and past to fulfill the wants of their sufferers, working at these unsafe ranges shouldn't be sustainable and can solely drive extra GPs away from the occupation – leaving extra sufferers with out their household physician.

‘We urgently want the Authorities and policymakers to take heed to the alarm bells being rung by practices across the nation, and work with the occupation to return to options that ease the pressures, flip the tide on the exodus of GPs and allow them to offer protected care that sufferers deserve.'