Will Patients Suffer With New GP Deal?

If you work in the healthcare industry, you will no doubt have heard of the plans by Jeremy Hunt – the Health Secretary, to create a new deal for GPs. The plans include the recruitment of 5,000 new GPs and a reduced workload, in return for a seven-day service to go some way towards solving the current GP crisis, but what about the patients?

As of last week, over 2,200 people from the Campaign for GP Survival group had signed a petition against the proposed changes, stating that they would ‘erode primary care and put patient safety at risk’.  Even the BMA Chairman, Dr Mark Porter, branded the new deal a poor solution.  He asked the all-important question of where the funding would come from, when practices have had their budgets cut year on year, and hundreds of training posts are still unfulfilled?

When we blogged about the 7 day NHS plans last month, we mentioned that hiring a Locum GP could be the solution to the crisis.  Locums can fill the gaps in general practice, providing a skilled and efficient workforce as and when required.  So what is the best way out of the current crisis, when surely the most important thing is patient care and safety?

Could it be that this is all part of a serious deterioration in NHS services, which will rekindle the age-old argument of privatisation?

Whatever your stand point, one thing is certain.  Patients cannot suffer because of bureaucracy.  Realistic estimates need to be set.  You cannot expect a workforce of 5,000 new GPs in five years’ time, if it takes ten years to train them.  Also what can be done about intermediary care and support services to relieve the burden on GPs? How many times have you visited your doctor when you haven’t really needed to – perhaps some advice would have sufficed?

GPs remain resilient in the face of this crisis, and locum agencies are standing by to support the gaps in the workforce, by providing experienced and skilled doctors when required.  In the long term, I don’t think any of us know how this crisis is going to resolve itself.  However, as GPs we must stick to our guns and do what we were put here to do – and that is to put the health of our patients first.

Are Part Time Women Doctors to Blame for the GP Shortage?

This week a government immigration advisor opened a can of worms by suggesting that the number of women doctors working part time is directly contributing to the current GP shortage.  

To make matters worse, rather than resolving the crisis by putting GPs on the shortage list which would allow more to be recruited from outside the EU, the health department has been told to recruit from inside the EU.  

The reasoning behind the Migration Advisory Committee’s decision is that there is not a lack of students coming through medical schools and therefore shortages can be addressed by changing the incentive structure so that more doctors choose the GP route rather than the hospital one.

So where does this leave us?

Apart from no doubt angering female GPs, many of whom are presumably working part time to bring up their children and avoid costly childcare draining their income, we can’t help thinking that this step gets us no further forward.

At the end of the day those suffering as a result of the GP crisis are patients who are forced to wait longer to see a GP or who take the alternative of going to A&E, thus putting a further strain on the already stretched NHS.   

Of course, one solution would be the hiring of locums, particularly in the short term whilst practices carry out recruitment for long term GP posts.  Locum doctors can fill the gaps both for temporary vacancies and those of a semi-permanent nature.  At least this gives the patients the reassurance they need that a fully qualified doctor is available to see them when they need an appointment.

Perhaps you have your own views on the GP crisis and how to solve it?  Why not tweet us at @LocumSelect to share your views.