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New research from The King’s Fund exposes for the first time the extent of the crisis in general practice, finding that the overall number of consultations (face-to-face & telephone) has increased by 15% over the past 5 years, 3 times the rate of increase in the number of GPs. The report analyses 30m patient contacts from 177 practices and includes extensive research with GP practices & trainees.
As well as a growth in the number of consultations, it shows that general practice’s workload has become more complex and intense. For example, the research also found:
- a 63% growth in telephone consultations
- the biggest increase in consultations were among the over-85 age group (up 28%), who are more likely to have more than one chronic condition
- using other members of the primary care team to triage & manage minor illness means that the patients GPs do see tend to be the most complex cases, who often require more than a 10-minute appointment
- the move to transfer care closer to patients’ homes hasn’t been coupled with the equivalent transfer of resources to primary care, again increasing the pressure on GPs
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