Dr Rowena Christmas on why it has become so difficult for patients and NHS professionals to access GP surgeries. Plus letters by GPs Dr Fiona MacPherson Smith, Dr Peter Aird and Dr Stephen Savory on the crisis in general practice
The paediatrician Robin Davies is correct to identify the challenges facing general practice, but fails to identify that the single biggest obstacle is insufficient size of workforce (Letters, 6 June). During the pandemic we saw a radical reshaping of how general practice services are provided. Today, there are more ways for patients to see their GP than ever before. Face-to-face consultations must always be an option, but there are advantages for some patients in accessing remote consultation.
The Royal College of General Practitioners has put forward proposals to improve access to GPs, harness better technology and develop multidisciplinary teams. There are also ideas on the horizon from the government promising improvements. We await these innovations with optimism, but at present the profession is in a daily battle to respond to patient need and a backlog of care with insufficient infrastructure – both digital and physical.
