GPs and their practice teams provide the vast majority of NHS care outside of hospitals, supporting you and your family throughout your lives. In a perfect world, we want to be able to offer every patient:<\/p>\n
Safety\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 prompt access to a GP or Practice Nurse you trust, with well-staffed surgeries and enough resources so that no patient feels left behind.<\/p>\n Stability<\/strong> \u2013 a family doctor who knows you, your medical history, and your community \u2013 without the stress and difficulty of finding it difficult to get an appointment.<\/p>\n Hope for the future<\/strong> \u2013 care that focuses on keeping you well, not just treating illness. We want more time for meaningful consultations, joined-up support closer to your home, from modern GP surgery premises with safe and effective technology to make this possible.<\/p>\n The government talks of \u201cbringing back the family doctor\u201d but what politicians promise is often not planned properly or funded fairly to be able to be delivered in reality.<\/strong><\/p>\n We want to guide you through the NHS, co-ordinate your care, and support you to stay healthy. We want every patient to feel safe and confident in their GP practice \u2013 now and in the future.<\/p>\n The Challenges\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Rising demand, fewer GPs<\/strong> \u2013 GPs care for 17% more patients than in 2015<\/strong>, but with fewer GPs. Funding has not kept pace, so many patients find it hard to see their GP quickly, leading to the stressful scramble to secure an appointment.<\/p>\n Practice closures<\/strong> \u2013 Around 2,000 practices have been lost since 2010<\/strong>, that\u2019s one in four surgeries, leaving fewer local practices and longer waits or travel for patients.<\/p>\n Funding pressures<\/strong> \u2013 Practices receive just 31p per patient per day<\/strong> to provide unlimited consultations with our doctors and nurses, making it hard to employ enough staff and sustain services.<\/p>\n Workforce challenges<\/strong> \u2013 More GPs are leaving the NHS than joining. While our staff work tirelessly, system pressures and patient frustration can affect everyone\u2019s morale and wellbeing. We have unemployed GPs now \u2013 and practices lack funds to hire them.<\/strong><\/p>\n Unsafe workloads<\/strong> \u2013 Many GPs see far more than the accepted safe limit of patients per day, often working over 60 hours a week. Recent government changes risk making this worse.<\/strong><\/p>\n Ageing buildings<\/strong> \u2013 One in five GP surgeries is now over 75 years old \u2013 older than the NHS itself which started in 1948. There is very little investment to provide modern facilities fit for today\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n Access versus continuity<\/strong> \u2013 Government policy means speed of an appointment comes before choice. This lack of continuity of care, means patients often don\u2019t get to see a familiar face who knows them well.<\/p>\n Demand management<\/strong> \u2013 We always aim to respond to all appointment and advice requests promptly, prioritising those most in need. Sometimes we may need to offer you an appointment on another day or direct you to another suitable service.<\/p>\n For safety reasons, urgent medical requests cannot always be accepted via our online system. For something urgent, pick up the telephone or walk in to our surgery.<\/strong><\/p>\n The need to prioritise urgent cases to keep patients safe can result in longer waiting times for routine\/non-urgent appointments.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The new requirement to allow patients unlimited online access for non-urgent requests, throughout core hours, makes it more likely that we will have no choice but to create hospital style waiting lists to meet demand.<\/em><\/p>\n We may unfortunately sometimes face challenges beyond our control:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 difficulties with accessing services at the local hospitals and long waiting lists<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 workforce challenges \u2013 not enough GPs to look after you<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the need to provide our teams with compulsory NHS training and education<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 unforeseen events<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 NHS IT challenges with old and slow equipment<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 lack of investment in practice buildings and development<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 public health emergencies<\/p>\n We believe patients deserve more<\/strong><\/p>\n At present, GPs and their teams are under huge pressure \u2013 caring for more people with fewer resources.<\/p>\n Without proper investment, the safety, stability and continuity of care that patients value most are at risk.<\/p>\n As your GP practice, we will always do what we can to deliver the best service possible for you and your family. With the right resources and support, we could expand our services, employ more staff, and deliver the safe, timely, and personalised care you deserve.<\/p>\n Please remember that our current GP contract funds patient care on average at 31p per day per patient, which is not enough to meet rising demand and to provide the care you and your family deserve.<\/p>\n So please bear with us \u2013 and thank you for your support as we try our best for you and your family.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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