GP surgeries unable to recruit due to lack of funds and space, experts warn
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There is a “vicious cycle” in GP surgeries that means many family doctors are unemployed while patients face difficulties accessing care, experts have warned. GP surgeries are unable to recruit family doctors due to a lack of funding or physical space to house more doctors in their surgery, according to a new report by the GP magazine Pulse Today and supported by the campaign group Rebuild General Practice.
Experts said the situation means that GPs are facing “unsustainable and unsafe” workloads. The report highlights how surgeries are often using cheaper members of staff, such as nurses or pharmacists, but concerns have been raised that some are working “above the correct level of clinical responsibility”.
The report also highlights “controversy about the responsibilities given to physician associates”. The authors of the report called for a boost to funding for GP services, saying that a lack of cash is an “underlying crisis” to problems with GP surgeries.
“There are staff available, and there are positions that need filling – the main barrier is the funding to pay for this,” according to the report, which has been published by Cogora – which publishes Pulse Today. Author of the report, Jamie Kaffash, editor-in-chief at Pulse Today, said: “GPs and practices are stuck in a vicious cycle.
“Rising GP unemployment alongside underfunded practices means that practices are unable to recruit the vital workforce to meet growing patient demand. “Fewer GPs and more unemployed GPs is leading to unmanageable workloads for GPs and a severe increase in the risk to patient safety.”.
