'General practice cannot keep up if we don’t have enough boots on the ground'

RCGP chair Professor Kamila Hawthorne urges GPs to sign a joint letter to the health secretary, asking him to take action against the under and unemployment crisis in general practice

Dear Secretary of State,

We 7,042* GPs and GP registrars across England are writing to urge you to ensure that the upcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan commits to a clear roadmap to train, recruit and retain the GPs needed to deliver the care our patients deserve. We are pleased to see that the 10 Year Health Plan promises ‘1000s more GPs’, but this intention needs to be clearly reflected by commitments the forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan. We cannot keep expecting general practice to provide timely, safe care for patients if we simply do not have the means to do so.

We know that when it comes to the NHS, access to GPs is the top priority for patients, and it’s our priority as GPs too. Growing concern around GP access comes as no surprise given practices across the country cannot afford to hire enough GPs to keep up with demand. Our latest research revealed that although 61% of practice managers say they need to expand the GP workforce to meet their patient’s needs, 92% say that the lack of funding in general practice is preventing them from hiring the number of GPs they need. We feel the pressure mounting every day, and we cannot keep up if we don’t have enough boots on the ground.

At the same time, many GPs are looking for more work – our recent surveys tell us so. With a record number of GPs qualifying this year it is important that practices have the resources to employ them. Our survey found that 66% of final year GP registrars who have looked for work found it difficult. Of those who have been unable to find work, 67% said that there are not enough suitable jobs anywhere in the country, and 62% are considering leaving the UK to find work. Over one in four of all GPs said that they have been looking for work in the past year but struggled to find a suitable vacancy.

As GPs, we’re ready to do our part, and with the upcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan, you have the opportunity to turn things around and give us the necessary tools to spend less time worrying about finding enough work, and more time to focus on what we’re trained to do: care for our patients. That’s why we’re calling for you to:

Set out how many full-time equivalent additional GPs are needed to meet patient demand in the 10 Year Workforce Plan and publish annual progress updates.
Guarantee additional ring-fenced funding for practices to hire newly qualified and currently under/unemployed GPs at all career stages as practice-based GP
Accelerate the planned expansion of GP training places set out in the 2023 LTWP, reaching 6,000 places earlier than the current 2031/32 target, and expand training capacity by increasing the number of GP trainers as well as providing the space in practice buildings needed to meet future demand.
Develop a National Retention Strategy for general practice with increased and ringfenced funding for GP retention efforts.
Commit to a Primary Care Investment Standard, with the Secretary of State and ICBs reporting annually on general practice funding, to ensure funding increases year on year.

We were pleased that as a result of the College’s previous letter signed by 10,000 of our members, you took action to swiftly create posts for newly qualified GPs and review the Long-Term Workforce Plan. However, as you acknowledged at the time, this was only ‘a first step’.

General practice can offer so much more to its patients, the wider NHS and the public purse, but we need your support to do that. Please use this opportunity to make a real difference to patient care.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Kamila Hawthorne

Chair of Council

Royal College of General Practitioners, alongside 7,042 GPs and GP registrars across England.

*Figure at time of publication

GPs wishing to sign the joint letter to the health secretary can do so here