Report warns patients facing uphill struggle to see GPs

Experts say that patients in parts of England are facing an uphill struggle to see a GP, following an analysis which has shown a wide regional variation in doctor numbers.

The Nuffield Trust think tank found that Kent and Medway had the fewest GPs per person, followed by Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes.

The government have said it has plans in place to tackle shortages, but Dr Billy Palmer of the Nuffield Trust, said “Solely boosting the number of staff nationally in the NHS is not enough alone – the next government should set a clear aim of reducing the uneven distribution of key staffing groups and shortfalls to tackle unfairness in access for patients.”

The think tank report found that whilst the government had met its target to increase the number of nurses by 50,000 this Parliament, the rises had not been felt evenly, with some specialist nursing posts, such as health visitors and learning disability nurses, seeing numbers shrink.

Dr Palmer said minimum numbers of GPs may have to be set for local areas – and better incentives to attract them to those with the fewest.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, who chairs the Royal College of GPs, said “Without immediate action to alleviate the pressures on general practice, the future of the profession – and the care we’re able to deliver to patients – is uncertain.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (jacquelinevance@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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