Half of regular patients are not getting continuity of care

According to a poll conducted by the Liberal Democrats, only about half of regular practice patients are enjoying continuity of care with the same doctor. They found that 47% of adult patients who had seen a doctor more than once in the last few years reported never or “rarely” seeing the same doctor. The party says that patients over the age of 70 should be given access to a named GP, calling for 8,000 more GPs.

The Royal College of GPs Chair, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, warned against “arbitrary mandates” of this kind. She said: “We know that continuity of care is highly valued by our patients, particularly those with complex health needs, and has significant benefits for the NHS generally. From a GP point of view, it allows us to build trusting relationships with our patients and deliver them truly holistic care. The reality is that we don’t have enough GPs to guarantee continuity of care to all patients – and some patients value it more than others, with some prioritising quicker access or convenience.”

Public Health Minister Andrea Leadsom described the Liberal Democrat proposals as “just another empty promise”.

NHS considering rule changes on gendered care and cancelled appointments

Under proposed new NHS rules, practices would have to ensure patients have a right to request someone of their own gender to undertake intimate examinations.

The proposal is among several under consideration for the NHS Constitution, which sets out patient rights and responsibilities. An eight-week consultation was launched this week. Under the proposals, a patient could object to a transgender professional giving them intimate care and demand to see someone of the same biological sex as themselves.

The changes would also seek to put new duties on patients needing to cancel or reschedule appointments.

New budget for Northern Ireland “not enough” to save practices

The Northern Ireland Executive, led by Sinn Fein, has unveiled its first budget, promising to give priority to funding the NHS. The budget allocates £7.76 billion to the Department of Health, together with £416 million for capital funding.

Dr Tom Black, BMA Chair in the region, said: “The amount allocated to health is simply not enough to sustain a health service that is struggling to function effectively with a huge workload and workforce crisis, never mind address the underlying causes of this crisis in any realistic, long-term way. In primary care, we continue to see GPs left with no choice but to hand back contracts due to the mismatch between funding and workload demands.”

Scottish turning to private GPs

Growing numbers of people in Scotland are paying for private GP services, the country’s parliament has been told. But the Scottish Government has blamed this problem on “false perceptions” that patients cannot see a doctor.

Addressing Health Secretary Neil Gray, a Labour member of parliament, Carol Mochan, said: “Does the cabinet secretary accept that by not adequately funding GP services, this government have overseen the development of a two-tier health system where the worst off go without and even those on lower incomes are forced to pay for them or their loved ones just to see a GP?”

Gray replied: “False perceptions persist that GP practices are unwilling to see patients, and that perception endures. General practice is fundamental to an NHS that is free at the point of need, and we’ve invested £1.2bn into general practice last year.”

Obstacles that hamper the success of additional roles

The integration of thousands of new additional roles clinicians into primary care has not always been “straightforward or effective”, according to new analysis.

Dr Zoe Anchors, of the University of the West of England, interviewed 37 professionals working in additional roles together with other stakeholders for a study reported in the British Journal of General Practice. More than 26,000 staff in England have so far been recruited to the new roles. The inflexibility of the scheme and supervision problems were among challenges reported.

GP teams deliver millions more appointments in March

GP teams in England delivered almost 30 million patient appointments in March 2024 – almost a quarter more compared to the same month before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new figures.

New NHS data published shows there were 29.8 million appointments compared with 24.2 million in March 2019 – an increase of 5.6 million (23.1%).

Royal College of GPs Chair, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, said: “This means that for the first quarter of 2024 we’ve delivered 4.8 million more appointments than the same period last year. Despite this growth in demand, 44% of appointments were delivered on the same day they were booked. The hard work and effort of GPs and their teams ensures that our patients receive the care they need, but demand continues to grow, both in complexity and volume, and we simply don’t have enough GPs to keep up.”