Three quarters of GPs say workload compromises patient safety

Almost three quarters of GPs say patient safety is being compromised by their workload, a new RCGP survey has revealed. 

The college found that 73% of GPs said workload pressures affected their ability to keep patients safe.

It found ‘significant concern’ among GPs over the new neighbourhood health services proposed by the Government in the 10-year plan, with 68% of respondents reporting worries over the lack of GPs to effectively deliver them, and the impact the introduction of neighbourhood health services would have on GP workload.

The poll also found that more than half of GPs said they do not have enough time to adequately assess and treat patients (58%) or time enough to build relationships with patients needed to deliver quality care (57%).

The survey, which received responses from 2,316 GPs, also highlighted GP fears over their role in delivering neighbourhood health services, a key feature of the 10-year health plan published earlier this year. 

Outgoing RCGP chair Professor Kamila Hawthorne is expected to address the college’s annual conference in Newport today, telling attendees many GPs are ‘caught between hope and scepticism’ on how successful neighbourhood health services will be in addressing the issues highlighted in the survey. 

She will highlight the ongoing GP unemployment crisis faced by doctors at various levels of training and seniority, claiming it is a ‘no-brainer that we will need more family doctors’. 

Professor Hawthorne will call for confirmation of the promised ‘thousands’ more GPs, including more detail as to how the government plans to deliver them in the anticipated new NHS workforce plan, as well as ring-fenced funding for practices to recruit the GPs they need.  

She is expected to tell attendees: ‘All around the country I meet GPs pushing themselves, day after day, to look after their patients in the face of ever-growing demand and an unsustainable lack of capacity. 

‘Our survey shows that many of you are worried about the neighbourhood health services proposed in the 10-year health plan … I understand that apprehension completely. When your workload is like a river that never stops flowing, no matter how hard you work, no matter how many hours you put in, it is difficult to have the mental capacity even to think about long-term strategy. 

‘And many who do grapple with it say they are caught between hope and scepticism. They are hopeful because the aspirations in the 10-Year Health Plan make sense. They are sceptical because they have heard similar hopes expressed before.’ 

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘We are reversing more than a decade of neglect in GP practices and are already seeing rising patient satisfaction. We have recruited more than 2,000 extra GPs in the past year, delivered a record £1 billion boost and cut red tape so doctors can spend more time caring for patients.

‘GPs will be the cornerstone of our Neighbourhood Health Service and we’ll shortly be setting out more details to support general practice to harness the benefits of this approach.’

This survey results align with findings from a major new Pulse white paper on access in which 42% of surveyed GPs said they would need to cut the size of their patient lists to provide appropriate levels of access. More than three in 10 (31%) of respondents said they would need to cut their patient lists by more than 10%.

Last month, health secretary Wes Streeting announced the 43 areas which have been chosen to pilot the new neighbourhood health service – saying that GPs will be their ‘cornerstone’. 

And GPs have been invited to share their views to inform the new workforce plan’s development. The Government has launched a call for evidence from healthcare organisations and those with expertise in workforce planning.