Over half of public want Government to prioritise GP funding

GP issues will be a general election ‘battleground’ with more than four in five members of the public wanting action to improve general practice, according to the RCGP.

Ahead of the next general election, which must be held by this time next year and is expected in the latter half of 2024, the RCGP has commissioned a representative poll of 2,000 general consumers to gauge their priorities for the NHS.

The results showed that over half (55%) want to see general practice prioritised, and 83% of respondents said they wanted to see action from the next government on GP access.

For the NHS overall, three in five respondents highlighted the NHS as ‘one of the most important factors’ influencing their vote, above the economy, housing and the climate crisis.

And four in five (81%) said they want political parties to outline ‘detailed plans’ to ‘solve the problems facing general practice’.

The RCGP said the poll results ‘confirm’ that GPs and patients are on the ‘same side’, and that adequate funding for recruiting and retaining GPs will be ‘crucial’ to address the public’s concerns. 

Other poll findings:

• While 55% of respondents want to see general practice prioritised out of all NHS issues, 59% said urgent and emergency care, 40% said surgery, 37% said mental health, and 33% said dentistry; 
• Three quarters of respondents (78%) were in favour of additional general practice funding if it reduces appointment waiting times;
• Over four in five (84%) believe the next government should increase the GP workforce; 
• Two thirds of respondents (66%) prioritised continuity of care in general practice, saying it is important they are able to book an appointment with someone they have met before.

The poll was conducted this month by Censuswide and included UK general consumers who were aged 16 and over.

RCGP chair Professor Kamila Hawthorne said the survey shows ‘general practice can’t be ignored by political parties’ and that it has been ‘left to wither on the vine by policy makers’.

She said: ‘GPs and our teams have been plagued by workforce and workload crises, and it is our patients who are feeling the impact of this most. 

‘These findings demonstrate that access to GP services is a priority for the public, so it’s vital that all political parties outline how they plan to tackle the problems the profession faces as we approach the General Election.’

‘Political parties that don’t recognise the importance the British public places on general practice and NHS care […] will likely find this reflected in the outcome of the forthcoming General Election,’ Professor Hawthorne added.

In October, the RCGP called for a patient safety alert system to be introduced in general practice, which formed the top demand in its ‘general election manifesto’.

Other asks included shifting NHS funding from hospitals towards general practice, investing £2bn in GP infrastructure, and introducing a nationally funded retention programme for GPs. 

Labour criticised the plan by saying the proposed solutions are ‘completely counter’ to what both GPs and patients need. 

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting told the college that his party will not ‘entertain requests for blank cheques’ and that the ‘era of simply pouring more money into a broken system is over’. 

Pulse recently revealed that the BMA could make general practice a ‘doorstep conversation’ during the general election campaign. 

The GP Committee England chair Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer told Pulse that collective action among GPs could take place around the time of the election, in which case the BMA would ‘call out’ what is happening to the profession.