The news Rishi Sunak wants to end the 8am “scramble” to get an appointment to see a GP is a great soundbite – but, in my opinion, it’s never ever going to be any more than that.
We’ve all been there. You wake up with a raging sore throat and ear ache and you know only antibiotics will help, so you reach for the mobile and, even though it’s the last thing you feel like doing, you start calling your doctor’s surgery on repeat.
One morning I rang them 100 times (I have the screen shot to prove it) and when I did get though, you guessed it, all the appointments for that day were gone. “Call back tomorrow,” a typically unhelpful receptionist told me.
What has the government pledged?
GP practices have been promised £240 million of funding with the aim of helping patients get appointments more quickly. The cash will be given to surgeries to “embrace the latest technology”, replacing old phone systems and creating online tools to “ensure patients get the care they need as soon as possible”. If urgent, they pledged people would be seen on the same day. If not, appointments should be offered within two weeks, or patients will be referred to NHS 111 or a local pharmacy.
But this “overhaul of primary care” has already been slated by the opposition. Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting called it a “shallow offer that shows Rishi Sunak is totally out of touch with the issues patients face”. Of course he is, you can bet your bottom dollar he isn’t calling his GP at 8am if he feels poorly. He’ll have a private doctor on standby with his antibiotics.
Rishi Sunak needs to train more GPs
So what’s the solution? First let’s look at the problem. There simply aren’t enough GPs. According to statistics, there were 26,706 permanent qualified GPs working in England in December 2022. This figure was down from 27,064 the year before.
Something is seriously wrong here, Rishi. And a new computer system just isn’t going to cut it.
The Health Foundation has also shared a worrying prediction. It has tipped the shortfall to increase further by 2030/2031. By then, we’ll see a shortfall of nearly 9,000 GPs. This is equivalent to one in four posts being vacant. So you can guess what this will do to the wait for an appointment.
Earlier today I was meant to have a callback from my GP to get the results of a blood test. Thankfully it’s nothing urgent as it was cancelled. The appointment they offered me? May 22. I had the blood test just before Easter, so it’s a bloody good job I’m not dying. Although I guess I could be, but I just don’t know it yet… But if this is us before the projected drop in GP numbers, I dread to think when I’d be able to speak to my GP – perhaps in time for Christmas?
The problem’s in the pay
There’s a simple solution if Rishi wants to end the 8am “scramble” for a doctor’s appointment. Pay them more – don’t waste the £240 million on a new computer system.
When they’re training, would-be doctors are on between £29,384 and £34,012 – about the same as a bus driver in Kent. As of April 2022, the pay range for salaried GPs is between £65,070 and £98,194. By comparison, train drivers can earn £65,000 a year. Now I’m not saying these fellow key workers provide any less of a service, but they’re not saving lives – and training for years to do it.
Something is seriously wrong here, Rishi. And a new computer system just isn’t going to cut it.
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