‘Continuity of care should not be a luxury’

Drs Rachel Warrington and Carter Singh MBE urge GPs to support Rebuild General Practice’s campaign to protect the family doctor model from collapse, by prioritising continuity of care

As GPs, we are proud to provide care that is personal, compassionate, and rooted in long-term relationships with our patients. For many of us, the role of the ‘family doctor‘ has never solely been about treating illness. It has been about knowing our patients over time, as understanding their home, work and family situations helps us to better know their health needs. This model should not be a luxury, as it is fundamental to safe and effective care, but we are increasingly concerned that this model is being eroded.

In recent years, demand in general practice has risen sharply, while the number of fully qualified, permanent GPs has not matched this pace. The 10-year health plan relies on GPs, but doesn’t allocate additional funding or guarantee GPs the autonomy they need to meet patients’ needs.

At the same time, policy and system pressures have pushed practices towards models that prioritise speed and access over continuity. On paper, this may appear efficient, but in reality, it is fragmenting care, and ultimately leading to worse outcomes for our patients, who don’t know if they will be able to keep seeing the same doctor.

We are seeing more patients than ever before, often in shorter periods of interaction. Patients are frequently directed to the ‘next available clinician’, rather than the GP who knows them and their health condition. While this approach may improve access metrics, it comes at a cost.

Without continuity, subtle but fundamental changes in a patient’s condition can be missed. Complex cases then become harder to manage, patients repeat their stories, and GPs spend valuable time piecing together information that would otherwise be understood intuitively. Continuity of care is about safety, trust and successful outcomes for patients.

When we know our patients well, we make better decisions as their GPs We can spot when something is not quite right and can manage risk more effectively. We can reduce unnecessary referrals and investigations because we understand the person behind the symptoms. In turn, patients feel more confident, more heard, and more likely to engage with their care. Weakening the family doctor model risks losing this model entirely.

Workforce shortages are a central issue. Many experienced GPs are reducing their hours or leaving the profession altogether due to unsustainable workloads and administrative burden and recruitment struggles to fill the gap. At the same time, practices are being asked to do more, often without the resources needed to do it safely. This creates a system where continuity becomes increasingly difficult to deliver, even when it is clearly in patients’ best interests.

Patients are beginning to feel this loss. Many tell us they no longer know who their doctor is. They feel they are navigating a system, rather than being cared for within a relationship. This is not what general practice was designed to be.

Our call to ‘rebuild’ general practice is not about resisting change. It is about ensuring that change does not come at the expense of what matters most – our patients. If the Government continues on the current path without addressing workforce, workload, and the structure of access, we risk losing continuity of care altogether.

We need a renewed focus on rebuilding general practice, one that values relationships as much as responsiveness, and safety as much as speed, otherwise we risk losing the family doctor for good. Once it is gone, it will be nearly impossible to bring back, and that’s why we are asking patients and GPs to support our petition to rebuild general practice.

Dr Rachel Warrington is a GP in Chepstow and Tintern. Dr Carter Singh MBE is a GP partner in Nottinghamshire.