Patients kept waiting as new doctors shun GP jobs More than half of GP surgeries have failed in their attempts to hire new doctors as the profession is threatened by a severe staffing shortage, according to a survey. Doctors said that they faced a “time bomb” as the strain on practices was forcing many to turn patients away, with waiting times for an appointment running to several weeks in some areas. As more and more medical graduates shun GP surgeries for hospital specialisms, 56.6 per cent of practices have been unable to recruit new doctors, the survey found. The poll, conducted by the Royal College of General Practitioners(RCGP) and ITV’s Tonight programme, found that 7 per cent of practices had asked patients to leave because they had lost GPs. Almost 10 per cent said that they had closed patient lists. Richard Vautrey, a GP and member of the British Medical Association UK Council, urged the government to stem the brain drain and prop up the health service’s first line of defence. “This is a time bomb that will explode very soon,” he says in the ITV report to be broadcast tonight. “Young doctors are looking at general practice, they’re looking at the huge workload that general practitioners have to cope with, they’re looking at the negative media stereotype that is often portrayed of general practitioners and they are choosing to work in hospitals or, in increasing numbers, looking to go abroad.” thetimes.co.uk/tto/health/news/article4175389.ece
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 08:05:09 +0000
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