While I understand the concern about GPs limiting appointments to 25 patients a day (UK hospitals braced for ‘alarming’ disruption as GPs go on strike, 2 August), NHS chief executives need to realise that the entire NHS cannot be allowed to collapse if GPs demand to be shown what a safe and reasonable number of patients is. Primary care can no longer support the rest of the NHS – we are at breaking point.
There needs to be wider recognition of the psychological toll of a GP’s work: 10 minutes to care for a suicidal adolescent, to break a cancer diagnosis, or to support a palliative patient in their final moments. We cannot underestimate the moral cost to GPs of seeing human suffering and suffering compounded by a failing system.
We also need to acknowledge the many other work streams that make up a GP’s day: blood tests, hospital letters, prescriptions, phone calls from NHS colleagues, staff training and clinical meetings. Archaic IT systems are woefully inadequate and further demoralise the workforce. The final straw is responding to a multitude of complaints about institutional failings that GPs cannot change.
Yet the prevailing media narrative remains that we are fat cats, lazy doctors or worse, greedy GP partners who are portrayed as the vermin of the NHS. It is a powerful narrative that can deflect public anger away from those in positions of power. The reality is that GPs are leaving the NHS in droves. Despite the golden hellos of £20,000 to join GP partnerships, partnership rates have continued to fall.
We must remember that GPs are seeing more patients since the pandemic and absorb 90% of patient interactions in the NHS. This is unsustainable. On average, one doctor commits suicide every three weeks. NHS chief executives – come out of your ivory towers, find your compassion and create a better NHS for us all.
Dr. Seema Haider
Havering, London
GPs are a vital part of the health service and have been forced into action by this ridiculous budget increase awarded by the previous government, meaning more and more practices are struggling to survive. Do we really want to lose more GP practices?
The vote for industrial action was carried out ahead of the 4 July general election. GP practices have been struggling for years with budgetary and other constraints and have come in for much criticism from the public for matters beyond their control. GPs have been advised by the British Medical Association on a number of ways to take industrial action that aim to minimise the impact on patients and put the pressure where it belongs: on the government and NHS England.
Practices that decide to limit patient appointments to 25 per day would simply be providing the level of service that most European countries would consider reasonable. Many GPs work much more than this – my own GPs locally are around 40% above this, which cannot be considered safe.
As a grateful patient of the NHS I think we need to remember that doctors do this for we do not Unpleasant us.
Yvonne Osman
Newark, Nottinghamshire