‘Too much focus’ on online services affecting GP continuity of care, survey finds
‘Too much focus’ on digital and online services is affecting continuity of care in general practice according to the public, a new survey has found.
The polling, conducted by market research company Opinium for the campaigning group Rebuild General Practice, revealed public backing for continuity of care in general practice, particularly for those living with long-term or serious conditions – with nine in ten people saying that patients with serious conditions must see the same GP every time.
The survey of 2,050 UK adults carried out in January also found that over a quarter (28%) believe the greatest challenge for GP services and continuity of care in their area is that there are not enough GPs, while 15% believe that one of the challenges is that ‘there is too much focus on online or digital services’.
And while 90% said it is important that people with serious conditions can see the same GP, nearly two-thirds (62%) said it has become harder over the past three years to see the same GP over multiple appointments.
The BMA has previously warned that Government-mandated online access requirements mean GPs ‘sit in front of a screen for hours and hours’, resulting in fewer face-to-face appointments for patients.
Rebuild General Practice is calling on the Government to ‘restore and protect’ continuity of care by ‘rebuilding the family doctor model’, and secure ‘fair funding’ for general practice within the wider NHS.
It launched a new national patient campaign warning that the Government’s 10-year plan risks permanently undermining continuity of care and the ‘family doctor’ model.
A spokesperson for the Rebuild General Practice campaign said: ‘The public has spoken clearly: people with serious health conditions should always be able to see a GP who knows them.
‘Continuity of care isn’t a luxury, it’s essential for safe, effective treatment, particularly for the most vulnerable.
‘Yet patients are telling us it is getting harder to see the same GP, harder to get an appointment, and harder to feel confident their practice will be there for them in the years ahead.
‘If the Government pushes ahead with its 10-year plan without urgently rebuilding general practice, we risk losing the family doctor model for good, and it will be the most vulnerable who pay the highest price.’
Pulse has contacted the Department of Health and Social Care for comment.
It comes after NHS England hailed a ‘sharp rise’ in people contacting their GPs via online tools, as data showed GP practices received over nine million online requests in a single month.
And a recent study also found that policies on online GP access and the effort needed to keep systems working are taking staff away from work that would be ‘more effective’.
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