Recruitment and retention challenges in general practice have a direct impact on patients. Responses to our most recent survey reflect the circumstances and concerns of practices responsible for a quarter of the Capital’s registered patients, with the total list size of responding practices standing at 2,599,730.
Also:
- Nearly two-fifths of responding practices (39%) are reporting vacancies, and those reporting a vacancy 71% are lacking at least one GP.
- The total list size of responding practices with vacancies is 1,062,078. That’s at least 10% of London’s patients reliant on short staffed general practice teams, based on a response from 22% of practices.
- Whilst nearly a million patients (924,000) are registered with a practice from which GPs plan to retire within the next three years.
- Over a third of responding practices (37%) say they feel pessimistic about being able to safely meet patient need over the coming months.
- The number of practices who say that their ability to deliver safe patient care is being impacted by workload shift remains high.
- And 76% of those practices say that they are unable to absorb that additional workload. Increased patient demand was the highest cited concern by the staff team when discussing whether how to meet patent demand safely, followed by lack of appointments and unrealistic patient expectations.
- Only 19% of practices, when asked how they feel about being able to safely meet patient need over the coming winter months, feel optimistic. Down from 24% last wave and 29% the wave before – showing a ten percent decreased in a single year.
A set of selected slides from the final report can be viewed here.
The data gathered from previous workforce surveys has been used in a number of ways to support our work advocating for you, including:
- Obtaining coverage of London’s GP workforce crisis in dozens of articles and reports, including on the front page of a national newspaper.
- Securing practice visits with MPs and Assembly Members from the three main political parties representing London.
- Being invited to submit evidence to Parliamentary committee enquiries.
- Showing commissioners and the other bodies which make up London’s health landscape that GP practices are facing significant workforce issue.