‘Patients should not bear the brunt of underinvestment’ warns College

Responding to polling on NHS admin from the King's Fund, Healthwatch and National Voices, Dr Victoria Tzortziou-Brown, Vice Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said:

“GPs get just as frustrated as our patients when their care is disrupted by admin issues and IT failures. It can cause delays, confusion, and as this polling shows, can deter patients from seeking care when they need it, and often impacts on our most vulnerable patients most.

“GPs and our team members are often involved in chasing up test results, missing letters, and appointments with our patients, adding to our bureaucratic workload at a time when need for our care is rocketing, and we have a severe shortage of GPs.  

“These issues aren’t the fault of hardworking administrative staff across the NHS, but a symptom of a system that is chronically overstretched and understaffed, relying on patchy, out of date processes and digital infrastructure. Ultimately, it’s our patients who are bearing the brunt when they receive disjointed or delayed care.

“If we are going to give patients the experience they deserve, then we need to invest in general practice – including in our IT infrastructure. The upcoming 10-year Health Plan is an opportunity for the government to follow through on their commitment to bring more care into the community and support general practice. We need to see a greater portion of the NHS budget spent on primary care to rectify our workforce crisis and rebuild our infrastructure, so we can provide the safe and timely care patients need.”

Further information

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

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 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.