12 March 2018
RCGP Welcomes Solutions Suggested in Latest NHS Reality Check Report
Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, has responded to a report by the Royal College of Physicians about the current pressures facing the NHS, and how they can be alleviated.
She said: "We have huge empathy with our hospital colleagues, and we know that GPs around the UK would echo their sentiments around increasing workload, and concerns for patient safety. Our NHS is operating under immense pressures and we're sure that everyone working in the health system can relate to this report in one way or another.
"The combination of a depleted workforce, intense workload, and chronic underfunding has left our health service on the brink, putting both staff and patient wellbeing at risk.
"In general practice alone, our workload has risen by at least 16% over the last seven years, but investment in our service has not risen at the same pace – something surgeries up and down the country are now feeling on a day-to-day basis.
"We agree with the recommendations made in the report that we need to make the UK more accessible and attractive to doctors from other countries, and that public initiatives to reduce patient need must be properly funded if the NHS is to see any benefit.
"For general practice, NHS England's GP Forward View promises an extra £2.4bn a year for general practice, 5,000 more GPs, and 5,000 more members of the practice team, and we need to see it delivered, in full, and as a matter of urgency, so that GPs and our teams can provide the high-quality care our patients need and deserve."
Further Information
RCGP Press office: 020 3188 7574/7575/7633/7410
Out of hours: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk
Notes
The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 52,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.