Cut our workload or patients could wait weeks to see a GP, doctors warn

GP waiting times will ‘rocket’ unless the system is overhauled, research has suggested.

People currently wait an average of 13 days for an appointment with their doctor – an increase from 10 days in 2015.

Three weeks

A survey of 830 doctors by Pulse magazine found one in ten GP surgeries who replied have average waiting times of more than three weeks for non-urgent appointments.

Proposals from the Conservative Party to increase the number of GPs by 5,000 in the next three years will not be enough to keep up with demand fuelled by a rising population and increased demand for appointments, the publication said.

Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, told Pulse: ‘There is no way any GP can work harder.

‘Eight in ten GPs say they cannot provide safe care. We need to reduce workload.

‘Intolerable workload’

‘If we carry on like this, we won't have any GPs working. GPs are unwilling to put up with intolerable workload.

‘Unless the government takes decisive action, waits to see a GP will rocket to several weeks in the coming years as patient demand continues to rise, and will seriously compromise patient care.’

The Conservatives have said their party is investing £2.4 billion more into primary care – and disagree with the findings of the ‘self-selecting survey’.

In other news

• NHS survey – what inpatients really think about nurses
• 'NHS planning to delay spending to balance books'