GP teams still working to their absolute limit, shows latest consultation data

Responding to the latest consultation figures, Professor Martin Marshall, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said:

“More than 25 million appointments were delivered in April in general practice, with over 45% of these appointments delivered on the same day they were booked. These latest figures show that GPs and our teams are working to their absolute limits, consistently making more patient consultations every month than in the same month’s pre-pandemic.

“This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of overstretched GP teams to deliver care, and often increasingly complex care, to the growing numbers of patients that need it, despite having insufficient workforce and resources to do so sustainably. Working under these intense workload and workforce pressures is unsafe and unsustainable, leaving GP teams exhausted and many on the verge of burning out.

“The Government must act now and provide general practice with the support and funding it desperately needs to safely deliver patient care and services. This must start with urgent progress on government’s manifesto promise of 6,000 more full time equivalent GPs, and 26,000 more members of the wider team, by 2024. We also need to see comprehensive plans to address the unsustainable workload in general practice, to give GPs more time to care for patients.”

Further Information

RCGP Press office: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editor

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.