Practices must deliver 50 million extra appointments and take on 26,000 extra staff, the government has ordered. The plan is contained in the annual instruction booklet issued to NHS England, known as the NHS mandate. The increase represents 15% of the current level of 300 million appointments and the demand is likely to stoke tension…

The number of GP partners has fallen by more than a fifth in the last seven years, according to new data showing how practices are struggling to cope with growing numbers of appointments. Practices delivered a record number of appointments in February despite declines in the trained GP workforce, according to new NHS Digital data.…

Public satisfaction with the NHS and primary care collapsed in the wake of pandemic restrictions on services, according to a bleak analysis published today. Practices services, a frequent target for complaint, now for the first time attract more dissatisfaction than satisfaction – in spite of very heavy public use, according to the data from last…

Practices need to be ready for patients gaining new rights of access to their medical records, a leading primary care organisation has warned. The rights are due to be introduced in April – although a deadline for complying with the rights may be extended to July, according to the Londonwide Local Medical Committees. The new…

One of the many challenges in general practice is ensuring you have all necessary policies in place, that they are kept up-to-date, and that everyone has read and understood them. Policy Manager allows you to: Create a library of policies that your staff can view at any time Assign policy owners Categorise your policies Schedule…

Women GPs may have suffered greater levels of burnout and anxiety during the pandemic than men, according to a new study. There is also evidence that older doctors suffered more stress than younger ones – possibly because of the increased risk from COVID, according to an analysis of studies from around the world. The detailed…

GPs have ceased to believe that their practice is safe because of “relentless workloads,” according to a new survey. The survey, published yesterday, found that 87% believe patients are not always safe when they seek GP services – and 70% believe the risk is increasing. The poll of 1,395 GPs found that 2% said patients…