We do a lot of dementia case finding anyway, but as for the other DESs, we just don’t have the infrastructure or the time without sacrificing other services. Our priority has to be the patients we’ve got. We’d love to hire more GPs and nurses and expand our services, but we simply don’t have the funding.
I get to work at 7:45am and don’t get home till 7:30pm. I enjoy my work but it can be frustrating when you can see the benefits of investing in primary care, yet if anything funding is being reduced while workload is increasing.
In our practice there have already been more and more directives to reduce secondary care admissions and referral management – both to reduce cost. But they all take time. Contrary to popular belief, there isn’t an endless amount of time in the day.
Dr Ben Burville is a GP in Amble, Northumberland
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