Practices have been facing 30% more patient demand than two years ago – before the pandemic, according to one leading partnership.

GPs in the Modality Partnership, which includes dozens of practices, are now dealing with 50 contacts a day, significantly more than recommended levels of 30 contacts, according to the Health Service Journal.This contrasts with 20 patients a day in April last year during the peak of the pandemic lockdown.

Modality has nearly 50 practices in clusters around England, including a large number in the West Midlands. Its analysis of workloads, obtained by the HSJ, quotes one doctor as saying: “There is just so much to cover – I am worried about missing something.” The analysis also found that complexity of cases is increasing as is the referral rate. Average consultation time has now reached 15 minutes.

Group chief executive Vincent Sai told the journal: “The complexity of consultations and the nature of them appears to have fundamentally changed. There’s a lot more mental health concerns, for example. Due to the workload the number of patient contacts which doctors have is high. There needs to be a balance. As a system, the public and patient expectations around appropriate use of services is key, as is the importance of remembering we are all in this together so taking care of the workforce who are serving them is also critical.”