By Shortage of GPs in North East Lincolnshire a serious failure for NHS
A shortage of GPs has seen areas of England have significantly fewer doctors than other areas.
Data supplied by The Nuffield Trust, showed parts of the country including Hull, had less than 50 GPs per 100,000 patients.
This equates to around 2,000 patients for every singular GP, meaning access to doctors is becoming a problem for the NHS and its users in the areas.
For North East Lincolnshire, it shows a figure of 50-54 for North East around Cleethorpes area, with the graph showing less than 50 in an area highlighted as Grimsby.
Billy Palmer, of the Nuffield Trust, said: “In an NHS founded on the principle of equal treatment, such stark differences represent a serious failing.”
Healthwatch England, a patient watchdog said around a quarter of complaints related to GP services.
National Director Louise Ansari said: “People are telling us about difficulties getting through to their local practice, with online booking systems, long waits on the phone, and a lack of face-to-face appointments providing them with challenges.
“The lack of easy access puts people’s health and wellbeing at risk, and increases demand on overstretched hospitals.”
The Royal College of GPs said there was a shortage of GPs, saying less than two-thirds of the workforce now work full-time.
Hull GP Dr. Matthew Fortnam said: “You have the perfect storm where we have the most need but the least capacity to deal with it. It creates inequity and perpetuates it.”
The BBC reported Dr. Marshall, college president, said that the job was becoming “undoable”.
“GPs can be seeing up to 50 patients a day. That’s potentially unsafe. It’s depressing- we know patients are not getting the service they want. The job is no longer enjoyable.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said the Government was “working hard to support and grow the workforce”.
