More than a fifth of general practice premises are “not fit for purpose,” according to a new survey.

The NHS Confederation yesterday called on the Government to provide extra investment to step up the modernisation and building of clinics. Rundown buildings and shortages of computers, phones and other basic equipment mean that new primary care staff cannot work effectively, the NHS Confederation said. The Confederation’s primary care network published a new report warning that infrastructure is limiting the planned expansion of primary care and the ability to deploy new staff such as physiotherapists, dietitians and occupational therapists.

One, unnamed, primary care clinical director in the south east of England said: “We’re working in a 1950s tin roof health centre…our ability to meet patient expectations and political promises is impossible unless significant investment in infrastructure is made. It is like promising the public a safe, effective, modern car and when they go to collect it, they find a 1970s Ford Escort, with rusting roof, wheezy engine, designed to take four people, but being required to carry ten, and with no one to service it or drive it.”

Confederation director of primary care Ruth Rankine said: “The ability of primary care to improve access, deploy new roles and see patients in a safe environment is being badly hindered by a lack of adequate estate. Primary care leaders are committed to doing all they can to see patients and help tackle the backlog, making sure that patients are seen as quickly and safely as possible, but they are being hamstrung in their attempts by a lack of investment in buildings and IT equipment that means many primary care staff simply can’t do their jobs properly.

A real lack of investment in primary care capital over the last decade means that rundown buildings and antiquated technology has left primary care leaders despairing of how to recruit the additional staff they so desperately need.”