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Concern over patient safety as GPs ‘face intense pressure’

Cited in Related
Vincent
Date01 April 2021
Published date01 April 2021
Publication titleMyLondon (England)
Family doctors are on average working 11 hours and dealing with 37 patients in a day, a survey found.

And half say their workload levels are not safe, according to the research carried out by GP publication Pulse.

Leading medics said GPs face “intense pressures” and this is affecting their health and wellbeing and “potentially patient safety”.

The survey of 1,400 family doctors from across the UK found:

GPs said the maximum daily number of patients should be 28 to enable them to provide “safe” care but on average they are having 37 consultations each day. 70% said their workload is higher than before the pandemic. Asked whether they consider their current workload to be at a “safe level”, 49% said no, 40% said yes and 11% said “Don’t know”.

In order to limit the spread of Covid-19, a significant proportion of GP appointments are being offered remotely instead of in person.

Doctors participating in the poll expressed concern that telephone and online consultations take longer as they involve multi-tasking.

And they worry about missing vital clues from patients’ body language.

It comes after analysis by the PA news agency found that only 54% of appointments at GP surgeries in England were carried out face to face between March and December 2020 – the figure was 80% for the same period in 2019.

Two out of five 40% appointments were conducted over the phone between March and December last year, a rise from 13% during the same period the previous year, according to NHS Digital experimental data.

Leading GP Dr Richard Vautrey, chairman of the British Medical Association’s GP Committee, said remote appointments are often more difficult and time-consuming.

He told Pulse: “While more and more appointments are now taking place via telephone or online, there is a misconception that remote working is...

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