A CHRONIC shortage of GPs has left some UK surgeries with one permanent doctor caring for as many as 11,000 patients, a shock investigation has revealed.
Those unfortunate enough to be registered with the hardest-hit practices have reported they now have to wait up to nine weeks for an appointment.
The Times probe reveals some surgeries now have more than SIX TIMES the national average number of patients per doctor.
In some cases desperate pensioners and parents of children said they had to call ambulances or visit A&E because it is so difficult to see their GP.
Boris Johnson has pledged an extra 6,000 GPs but doctors’ leaders said similar promises have not been kept in the past.
The number of permanent fully qualified GPs in England has fallen by 1,700 despite a pledge by David Cameron five years ago of an extra 5,000 GPs for the health service.
Since 2015 six per cent of these GPs have left the NHS while patient numbers have risen from 57 to 60 million.
The Times also revealed almost one in five appointments is now taken by a GP in training as practices attempt to cope with the crisis.
PARTY PLEDGES
And the average permanent fully qualified GP is caring for over 200 more patients than four years ago.
As well as a general shortage of doctors, many GPs are retiring early or choosing to work fewer hours.
Surgeries are paid about £150 a year per patient on their list, although this varies, and for their performance.
One practice with 10,300 patients in Walsall, West Midlands, has no permanent GP and is being run by three long-term locums.
Anita Charlesworth, of the Health Foundation think tank, said: “While it is positive that the government has acknowledged the importance of reversing this decline, it is hard to see how this can be delivered in the timescales set out.”
During the election campaign, Mr Johnson promised to increase by 50 million the number of GP appointments available each year while increasing the GP workforce by 6,000 by 2024-25.
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Matt Hancock, the health secretary, this week dismissed the term “worried well” and urged healthy people to seek treatment.
He told The Times: “We are working hard to recruit and retain more family doctors, with the number of primary care professionals in general practice increasing over the last year.
“We are also committed to expanding the skill mix of general practice – ensuring patients have access to a wide range of highly-skilled health practitioners such as physiotherapists and pharmacists.”
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