GPs seeing 90% of urgent patients on same day ‘simply not realistic’, BMA warns

A new target for GPs to see 90% of clinically urgent patients on the same day – currently being planned by NHS England – is ‘simply not realistic’, the BMA has warned.

The commissioner is planning to set the target to help ‘improve access’ and ‘reduce unwarranted variation’ among GP practices, according to medium-term planning guidance published last week.

NHSE said that it will ‘consult with the profession on this new ambition and approach’, but following the document’s publication, the union’s GP committee has told Pulse that more targets is ‘the last thing’ general practice needs, as practices are struggling to meet demand and the profession is going through an unemployment crisis.

GP leaders are ‘ready to engage’ in the consultation process, but GPs ‘need support, not more politically driven targets’, the committee added.

GPC England deputy chair Dr David Wrigley said: ‘While we welcome the intention to improve access for patients, setting a target like this, that 90% of clinically urgent cases must be seen on the same day, simply isn’t realistic without a significant increase in clinical capacity.

‘We remain desperately short of GPs and shockingly now have GPs looking for work but unable to find enough sessions. The Government must urgently address this and discuss with BMA GPCE how to resolve this unacceptable situation.’

It comes after last week, health secretary Wes Streeting claimed that the Government is ‘smashing through’ its target to recruit 1,000 extra GPs.

Dr Wrigley also said that what counts as ‘clinically urgent’ will always rely on the GP’s professional judgement, and at present there’s ‘no clear or practical way’ to measure or record this consistently across practices.

He added: ‘More targets are the last thing we need and our politicians must recognise the desperate situation in general practice under their watch, where demand is already outstripping supply and teams are working flat out to keep patients safe.

‘Their repeated mantra of thousands more GPs now in surgeries goes nowhere near what we need to “bring back the family doctor” as we heard in the general election.

‘We’re ready to engage in the consultation process, but GPs need support, not more politically driven targets that risk further overloading an already stretched system.

‘Without investment in workforce and infrastructure, ambitions like this will only push more pressure onto overloaded practices and their staff as well as fragment care for patients.’

The new guidance also asked GPs to ‘continue prioritising’ advice and guidance (A&G) and said all referrals for 10 specialties – decided at local level – should be going through A&G.

And from April next year, the NHS must being to make ‘at least 95% of appointments available’ after appropriate triage via the NHS App ‘across all care settings’.

Pulse has recently looked into the systemic issues affecting GP access as part of a major series.