Too many patients are ‘crying out for appointments’ as a shrinking number of GPs are being forced to care for millions more people, family doctors warn.
The Royal College of GPs said a failure to expand the workforce meant many medics are now struggling to cope with ‘dangerously high workloads’.
Its analysis reveals each full-time equivalent fully qualified GP in England is now caring for 2,280 patients – up 8.5 per cent from 2,100 in 2018.
Over this period, the number of family doctors has shrunk from 28,367 to 2,280, while the number of registered patients has soared from 59,580,402 to 63,418,988.
Furthermore, there is a stark postcode lottery of care, with each medic in deprived areas looking after 300 more patients than colleagues in wealthier areas.
Patient numbers in poorer communities rose by an average of 260 in the past six years, a rise of 12 per cent and almost double the rate among doctors in wealthy areas (7 per cent).
London had the greatest number of registered patients per qualified full-time equivalent GP at 2,560, while the South West had the lowest at 2,020, according to the college.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chairman of the RCGP, said some some family doctors in the UK are opting to work part-time contracts, using their days off to catch up on admin to ensure their job is being done properly.
Addressing 1,500 delegates at the RCGP annual conference in Liverpool today [THU], Professor Hawthorne is expected to say: ‘At the heart of this is a workforce that hasn’t kept pace with workload.
‘We are delivering 14 per cent more appointments than we were five years ago, but we have fewer qualified GPs – 16 per cent fewer than other high-income countries relative to our population.
‘Less than 10 per cent of the total NHS budget in England is spent on primary care and that share has been falling despite an increase in workload and the movement of extra services into the community.
‘What does this mean in real life? It means too many patients crying out for appointments and dangerously high workloads for our members.
‘Many colleagues tell me they choose to work part-time contracts just so they have enough time to do the job properly.
‘They use their days off to catch up on admin and to try to be on top of things. We cannot continue like this.’
Professor Hawthorne will add: ‘When I became a GP, it was normal to have a list size between 1,600 to 1,800 patients.
‘The role was busy and challenging, but it was manageable. Our latest figures reveal that the average is now 2,300.
‘All GPs work extremely hard, and we would argue that almost all areas are under-doctored, but it can’t be right that a GP in Kingston upon Thames looks after 1,800 patients while a GP in Kingston upon Hull, one of the most deprived places in England, is expected to cover twice that number.
‘I have worked in areas of high deprivation, and I know how poverty leads to health inequalities … Surely, as a country, we cannot allow such inequality of health provision to continue to grow.’
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘This Government is determined to work with the NHS to fix the front door of our health service and ensure everyone can access GP services.
‘As a first step we have cut red tape to allow surgeries to hire 1,000 more newly-qualified GPs and have increased funding for practices to manage rising pressures.
‘We will also tackle the stark health inequalities in the UK, so all patients receive the care they deserve, when they need it, regardless of where they live.’
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is scheduled to deliver a speech to the conference today.