GPs are putting patients at risk by sending them to the doctor within 10 minutes, damning research finds

A damning study has revealed that GPs are putting patients at risk by sending them straight out the door before they’ve had time to discuss all their problems.

Only half (51 percent) of adults in the UK said they were able to discuss ‘all’ or ‘most things’ at their last GP appointment.

Most people believe that the standard 10-minute appointment is too short for the aging population, which increasingly suffers from multiple conditions.

The public is also fed up with the hurdles they face in getting to their GP and long waits for care, according to an Ipsos survey of 1,094 adults.

Patient groups warned last night that older people are being made to feel ‘unwelcome in their consulting rooms’ due to rushed appointments and the switch to online booking systems.

They add that this means many people are giving up on going to the doctor and are now going to the emergency room or prescribing themselves medications.

Previous research has shown that the UK has the shortest GP consultation times in Europe, driven by a shortage of doctors.

Less than a quarter (24 percent) of respondents to the new poll thought appointments should last ten minutes or less, a third (34 percent) wanted 15 minutes, a fifth (21 percent) 20 minutes and one in eight (12 percent) 30 minutes. One in 50 patients wants an hour with their GP.

Only a fifth of people (21 percent) said they were able to discuss ‘everything’ with their GP at their last appointment, and 30 percent ‘most things’.

Just over a quarter (29 percent) only had time to discuss ‘some things’ and 10 percent ‘almost nothing’.

The research, conducted exclusively for the Daily Mail and Guardian, reveals how difficult it is for patients to get an appointment and the complicated procedures surgeries go through to get an appointment.

Just over one in three patients (37 percent) are confident that they can get an appointment at a suitable time if needed.

More than half (56 percent) think it should be easier to make an appointment at their practice, 53 percent want shorter waiting times and 52 percent think the booking process should be improved, while 33 percent want receptionists to answer the phone faster.

When they finally get through, 43 per cent have to tell a receptionist what their problem is before they get a face-to-face consultation with a GP. 22 per cent have to fill in a form on their practice website, and 16 per cent make a request via the NHS app.

Nearly a third of patients (31 percent) say they can only get an on-site appointment after calling their doctor, who will then invite them if necessary.

Nearly one in five (19 percent) say they have to see a non-GP staff member as part of a triage process.

Overall, 27 percent want their practice to provide better quality of care and only 5 percent say there are no areas for improvement at their GP practice.

Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, an organisation that advocates for people aged 60 and over, said: ‘This research confirms what Silver Voices members have been telling us for months.

‘There are many great GPs who take all the time they need, even if it means working longer hours.

‘Yet more and more people seem to become irritated and impatient when an elderly patient feels the need to explain his or her medical history to provide context, giving the impression that they want the patient out of the house as quickly as possible.

‘The many barriers to access to general practitioners and the revolving door policy in some practices mean that elderly people do not feel welcome in the consultation room.’

He added: ‘If the doctor is in too much of a hurry to reschedule an appointment, there is a great danger that only the immediate and obvious symptoms are treated.

‘If you don’t read the notes thoroughly and listen to the patient’s broader concerns, underlying, more serious conditions can easily be missed.

Older patients continue to report increasing bureaucratic barriers to seeing a GP, with complicated online forms becoming the order of the day.

‘There seems to be no awareness of the fact that the app-driven world of younger patients is completely foreign to a large part of the population.

‘Older patients often give up on their GP and go to the emergency room or try to self-medicate.’

Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients’ Association, said: ‘These latest statistics from Ipsos show that just getting to the GP practice is a challenge for many patients.

This is unacceptable: people’s mental and physical health is at risk of deteriorating if they do not receive timely help.

‘Moreover, an appointment with the GP should not be a test of perseverance and digital skills.’

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said GPs share many of the frustrations their patients feel as revealed by this poll.

She added: ‘This research closely matches a recent poll of our members, which found that 60 per cent of GPs feel they do not have enough time to adequately assess and treat patients.

‘We want to treat our patients holistically and discuss all their health issues. However, due to the current workload and the pressure on GP staff and our teams, we find it difficult to give our patients the time they need and the time we want to spend with them.

‘Ensuring access to safe care is a priority for GP teams and we do not want patients to feel discouraged by triage processes that practices may use.

“These will have been introduced with the best intentions.”

Kate Duxbury, Ipsos UK Research Director, Health and Social Care, said: ‘We know the public is aware that GP practices are under pressure, and this new poll shows the impact this is having on Britons.’

An NHS England spokesperson said: ‘GP teams are working incredibly hard to increase patient numbers, with a recent survey showing that nine out of 10 patients said their needs had been met at their last appointment. However, these findings highlight the need for more to be done to improve patient satisfaction and experience of accessing primary care.’