Falling GP budgets ‘means 34 million will miss out on appointment’

The college’s prediction that one in ten prospective patients will fail to secure an appointment when they wish is based on analysis of the latest GP Patient Survey, published in December.

The RGCP said the number of people who would fail to get an appointment when they want one will continue to rise as Government cuts and the effects of an ageing population take hold.

GPs now see 340 million patients per year in total but the 
NHS budget for general practice has been cut by £9.1bn in real terms since 2004, the college 
said.

Each GP is handling 1,500 more consultations a year than in 2008.

The GP Patient Survey on which the predictions are based asked patients whether they were able to get an appointment to see or speak to someone in general practice.

The responses showed an increase in the number of patients failing to secure an appointment at all from nine per cent of patients, in the version of the survey published in June 2012, to 10 per cent in the latest report – equivalent to an increase of 3.4 million patients annually.

The RGCP called on the Government to increase the proportion of the NHS budget spent on general practice from 8.5 per cent to 11 per cent by 2017.

RCGP chair Dr Maureen Baker said: “The unprecedented decline in funding for healthcare in the community has brought general practice to its knees.

“GPs and practice nurses want to provide high-quality care for every single patient who seeks a consultation, and over the last decade we have increased the number of patients we see each year in England by 40 million.

“However, GPs and practice nurses can’t keep doing more for less and now that funding for general practice in England has slumped to just 8.5 per cent of the NHS budget the service we provide is in crisis.

“All three political parties say they want to see more patients being treated in the community, where care can be provided to patients more economically, in their own surroundings, and yet resources are increasingly being diverted away from communities and into hospitals.

“By continually diverting resources into hospitals, we have fuelled a real and growing crisis in general practice.”

She added: “If the Government and NHS England really want to give general practice the tools to provide high-quality and comprehensive care in the community, they must increase funding for the sector to 11% of the NHS budget by 2017.”

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham blamed Prime Minister David Cameron for scrapping Labour’s guarantee of a GP appointment within 48 hours.

He said: “Within days of taking office, David Cameron scrapped Labour’s guarantee that all patients shou ld be able to get a GP appointment within two working days.

“In December, Labour called on the Government to reverse this decision but Tory MPs voted against. It is one of the reasons why A&E departments are now under such pressure.

“Ministers have cut primary care budgets by close to a billion since the election and taken away the funding that kept surgeries open into the evening and at weekends.

“Now, almost 1,000 surgeries across England shut their doors earlier than a few years ago.

“On David Cameron’s watch, it has got harder for people to get GP appointments.

“Patients call the surgery early in the morning only to be told nothing is available for days. It is unacceptable and ministers must take practical steps to make sure patients can see their GP when they need to.”