'I dread saying what job I do': GP on 'overwhelming' pressures facing doctors - and what could help

This week a study published in the BMJ Open Journal revealed startling figures about the state of the demands on General Practice in England.

The data shows the number of people registered with a GP has risen by more than six million in the decade up to 2023.

It comes while the number of GP practices has fallen from 8,044 to 6,419, and the number of GPs fell from 27,948 to 27,321 – a 15 per cent drop in the amount of doctors per 1,000 patients.

The team from University College London (UCL) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine suggested that on the current trajectory the country is approaching a 'tipping point' where the majority of General Practice appointments are no longer delivered by GPs.

Dr Jess Harvey, a GP partner at Much Wenlock and Cressage Medical Practice, said General Practice was still struggling to adjust to major increases in demand – and the complex nature of that demand.

She spoke of the strains on GPs trying to deal with increasing caseloads, burnout, and said that appointments with non-GP staff, such as physiotherapists and pharmacists, could benefit patients.

She said: "Looking at the study, what one would hope is that it starts to create some realistic expectations for patients because the days when, 50 or 70 years ago, when you had your doctor who would go and see you at your house, you called them in the middle of the night and they would come and see you, those days are gone.

"The number of people we are seeing is far greater, the complexity of conditions experienced by our patients is far, far greater. If you think about what you would have treated people for 50 years ago and what we can treat people for now, it is completely different."

Dr Harvey said that she understood the embedded desire from patients to see a GP – but stressed that the additional roles could offer better, and quicker answers for patients.