Only seven in ten GPs work full-time, while patient demand is increasing due to chronic conditions, research shows
A study has found that the increase in the number of GPs working part-time is a ‘major factor’ in the crisis in primary care.
Although patient demand has increased by a third, figures show that GPs have reduced their contract hours by almost nine percent since 2015.
In combination with early retirement and staff shortages, this means that the number of patients per GP has increased by nine percent in the same period.
The shortage is being fuelled by male GPs significantly reducing the hours they work under contract, according to research of more than 306,000 doctors. It suggests the average GP now spends the equivalent of 26.25 hours working directly with patients.
Dr Rosa Parisi, lead author from the University of Manchester, said the NHS in England is experiencing an annual reduction in the total number of GP working hours.
A GP with a patient (stock image). Although patient demand has increased by a third, figures show that GPs have reduced their contract hours by almost nine percent since 2015.
Analysis of NHS figures shows record numbers of people are having to wait four weeks to see their local GP (stock image)
She said: ‘This decline is due to early retirement, high turnover and low retention of GPs, too few newly trained GPs entering the workforce and a lack of recruitment abroad.
‘But reduced working hours are also an important factor. We show that while the supply of GPs decreased by 2.7 percent from 2015 to 2022, the practice population increased by 9 percent, while demand, measured by the total presence of chronic conditions, increased by 32 percent.
‘The largest contribution to the overall decline in supply was an 8.7 percent decline in contractual hours of GPs, especially male GPs.’
The number of hours worked by female GPs, who traditionally have more part-time staff, also fell, according to findings published in the British Journal of General Practice.
Practices in the most deprived areas had 17 percent more patients and 19 percent more chronic conditions per full-time GP, compared with the least deprived areas.
According to researchers, GPs’ workload has changed over time and this decrease is likely due to the hours spent in patient contact, rather than the number of hours worked.
This is according to an analysis of NHS figures, which shows record numbers of people are having to wait four weeks to see their GP.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said last night: ‘We’ve made a strong start, recruiting 1,000 extra GPs to the NHS by the end of the year and securing increased funding for practices to help cope with the increasing pressures.
‘The NHS needs a major overhaul. Our 10-year plan shifts the focus of the NHS from the hospital to the community, so patients can get the care they need closer to home, including GP appointments.’