When Can I See My GP? | ITV Tonight
Twelve months ago, Bradford based Dr Amir Khan gave us an insight into life at his surgery. Since then General practice has been described as being in a state of emergency.
Patients have told us they are furious at the lack of face to face doctors appointments and senior GPs say patient safety is being put at risk. And all this comes as A&E reaches crisis point, with claims of up to 500 patients a week could be dying due to delays in care.
Dr Khan has been finding out how bad things have really got and what’s being done to try to solve the problems in General Practice.
We revisit Dr Amir’s surgery and hear from some of the reception staff who claim that the wait times on the phone lines have not improved. Patients are still waiting up to 39 minutes to speak to someone at the surgery.
We meet Lauren, a ward nurse from Glasgow who suffered from bleeding and pelvic pain. She had a gynaecological procedure in 2020 that found nothing. She was referred back to her GP in January 2021 but continued to experience symptoms. Lauren says she was unable to access a face to face appointment for the next 10 months and in February 2022 was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Lauren believes she should have had a face to face GP appointment sooner.
Lauren’s GP surgery told Tonight “Due to the duty of confidentiality placed on us by the General Medical Council, we are unable to make any comment at the present time.”
Chair of the Royal College of GPs, Kamila Hawthorne suggests that the real problem is the workforce because if the NHS haven't got enough doctors then the ones who are left have to carry the workload and that the workload is only increasing.
“It is a real crisis. I think that… we could lose a quarter of our GPs in the next 5 to 10 years quite easily and not be able to replace them numbers wise.” - Kamila Hawthorne, Chair, RCGP
We meet Suzanne from Gosport who’s 17 year old son Sean began having problems with his mental health in the Summer of 2021. Sean contacted his GP surgery but wasn’t able to see a doctor face to face. He spent four months talking to staff online and wasn't offered a single in-person appointment. She says one night in December, Sean sadly took his own life. Suzanne doesn’t blame her surgery for what happened to Sean but is happy they have since changed their policies. They now offer the option of a phone, video or face to face appointment where mental health is a concern.
The coroner thinks a face to face appointment would have made a difference in Sean’s case but does not know if it could have prevented his death. Factors such as the pandemic and delays in access to counselling support also played a part and they recorded a verdict of misadventure.
Dr Amir goes to meet Labour’s Shadow Health Minister, Wes Streeting, who says the government's winter crisis plan announced this week is too little too late.
“It is and it has to be. We need more doctors! We have lost almost 5000 GPs in the last decade. Why are we surprised? In the latest data I saw from October. Two million people waited more than a month to see a GP. The front door to the NHS is broken, people are struggling to get appointments. The back door to the NHS and social care is broken. We have got people in hospital who don't need to be there.” - Wes Streeting, Shadow Health Minister, Labour
The Department for Health and Social care told Tonight… “Numbers of doctors in general practice have increased since 2015, which includes trainees as they are fully qualified doctors and deliver care. We have increased the number of GP training places to 4,000 each year. In November 2022, there were on average 1.42 million general practice appointments per working day. We are investing at least £1.5 billion to create an additional 50 million appointments by 2024. Pharmacies will help ease pressures on GPs which could free up over one million appointments a year”
We meet Dr Marilyn Graham who is a senior partner at Fairview Medical Centre in South London. She says the situation is the worst it’s been in the 35 years she’s been a GP and some measures she’d like to bring in to help, just aren’t happening.
It's estimated that a colossal 42% of doctors will leave the profession in the next 5 years. For some, the pressures of the job have meant they feel they have no choice but to leave the profession and some go and work elsewhere.
Dr Mike Mrozinski began his career in Glasgow. He worked as a registrar in General Practice and found the workload really difficult and overwhelming, after years of burnout he realised he wasn’t able to keep up the pace for the rest of his life. Dr Mrozinski took the decision to find a new GP job in Australia, and doesn’t see himself returning to the UK to work any time soon.
Going to see your pharmacist is the next best option if you are struggling to get an appointment. You’re advised to ring 111 if you have a non life threatening health issue and you’re not sure what to do and to only attend A&E in an emergency.
Useful Links:
Visit the NHS website to find out how and when to book a GP appointment
If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with Cervical Cancer head to Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust to talk to someone
If you are struggling with your mental health go to Mind for help and support
The Patients Association is an independent patient charity campaigning for improvements in health and social care for patients