Fewer GPs can’t treat more patients – Yorkshire Post Letters

FEWER GPs ultimately means fewer family doctors able to provide patients with the care they need. In the last six years, we’ve lost the equivalent of 1,744 full-time, fully qualified GPs – with 40 more having now left the workforce in the last month, a total of 321 since last December alone.

All GPs and their teams want to be able to provide is the best care that meets their patients’ needs, but they are increasingly unable to meet complexity and demand in a way that is timely, effective and ultimately, safe – for patients or themselves.

We know that GPs and their teams continue to work harder than ever before. For example, the number of standard appointments – that’s excluding Covid vaccination appointments – rose by 1.8m from September to October alone to 30m However, the fewer doctors we have, the more they are expected to take on between them, and by doing so push themselves further into exhaustion. The last 20 months have seen GPs go to incredible lengths for their patients. We are committed to working with Government and policymakers to create and deliver solutions that focus on recruiting, training, and retaining doctors who have the energy and time needed to provide the highest quality of care.

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