The GP crisis we have long feared is arriving

Responding to the GP Patient Survey, Nuffield Trust Chief Executive Nigel Edwards said:

“Today’s GP patient survey shows one of the most alarming collapses in NHS performance we have seen since the height of Covid-19, and suggests the crisis we have long feared is arriving. There has been a sharp downward trend in nearly every measure of how easy it is to get care [1]. 55% of people who say they needed an appointment also said they had avoided making one over the last year, up from 42% last year. Around half of people do not find it easy to get through on the phone, up from less than a third last year. The proportion of people with a poor experience of their practice overall has doubled in a single year, from 6.7% to 13.6%.

“Although many measures of trust and good quality care remain strong, the direction is also troubling. One in 10 people (9%) now say that the needs for which they booked an appointment were not met. The proportion of people who rarely or never see their preferred GP has also risen sharply, suggesting that the ability to have a relationship with one clinician is also being lost.

“This reflects many years in which the number of qualified GPs in England has fallen [2], with no real progress towards the government goal of 6,000 more and rising need from a growing population. In many ways doctors and their colleagues have done remarkably well to maintain access to care as long as they have. It may be that worse public health since the pandemic, and a rise in how many people are unwell, is tipping the system over the edge.

“Data from April and May, after this survey, suggests a rise in GP appointments and it is possible that this will stabilise the situation. But there can be no doubt that the underlying shortage of doctors will ensure many tough years ahead. We need to do all we can to support the workforce, and to make sure practices have the ability to allocate the care they can give to the right people [3].”