Dr Chaand Nagpaul, head of the British Medical Association’s general practice committee, said patients were being “short-changed on a daily basis”.
Nagpaul, who practises in London, told a conference of local medical committees on Saturday that, according to research, 90% of GPs felt their workload was damaging the quality of care they provided – something he said was a disgrace.
He said GPs were having to deal with complicated cases within 10 minutes, treat a “conveyor belt” of up to 70 patients a day with administration on top of that, while understaffed practices were forced to continue registering new patients.
“To put it simply, it is not safe to carry on the way we are, and which is why this conference is highlighting that general practice is quite literally in a state of emergency,” he told delegates in London.
“I’m constantly told by ministers that the greatest battle is getting money out of the Treasury. My message to the chancellor is to use his financial nouse. Stop penny-pinching and be poundwise, grab yourself a bargain while there are GPs out there because once they’re gone, they’re gone, since it costs £136 for all-in unlimited care and home visits per patient per year, which is less than the price of walking through a single outpatient clinic door once.”
GPs have clashed with the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, over his plans for a seven-day NHS. Last year, Hunt was forced to defend England’s chief inspector of general practice after doctors called on him to resign.
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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jan/30/gp-surgeries-operating-state-of-emergency-leading-family-doctor