General practice has been in crisis for years and patients are being affected by the lack of action. GPs want you to know what they are doing to ensure that patient safety comes first. Please read their letter below:
Here’s a reminder of how GPs can get involved
1. Add your name to the above letter – you simply need to email: hello@rebuildgp.co.uk with your full name to add your signature.
2. Share the above letter on the platform of your choice.
3. Write your own letter (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ObFyJpAT3Dl-1KkBYAl-SRjg5uJftOEy/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=101642177404992113154&rtpof=true&sd=true) to your patients – please send your letters to hello@rebuildgp.co.uk and they will be shared on the @RebuildGP Twitter account: (https://twitter.com/RebuildGP)
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A recent poll found that 84% of GPs have felt anxiety, stress or depression in the last year and almost 1 in 4 (24%) know colleagues who’ve taken their own lives due to work pressures. This data is terrifying, and the Rebuild General Practice campaign is calling on the Government to address the workforce crisis so that GPs are able to provide the best care for patients.
Please see the below link to watch a new video from the Rebuild General Practice campaign.
GPs make an emotional plea to Rebuild General Practice
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GPs IN THE EAST OF ENGLAND CAMPAIGN TO REBUILD GENERAL PRACTICE AS PATIENT SAFETY AT RISK
- Campaign – Rebuild General Practice – launches as a new poll shows over 9 in 10 GPs in the East of England fear for patient safety
- GP shortages and too little time for appointments were cited as the main factors putting patients at risk
- Jeremy Hunt MP joins forces with BMA and GPDF to call for a GP workforce plan to Rebuild General Practice
From today, March 21, 2022, GPs from across the East of England and Great Britain are calling for support to rebuild General Practice – as new polling shows that over 9 in 10 GPs in the East of England fear patients aren’t always safe at their surgeries and over 7 out of 10 GPs in the East of England see this risk increasing over time.
The campaign, called Rebuild General Practice, comes at a time of ‘crisis’ when appointment numbers are peaking post-pandemic, while GP workforce numbers are on the decline. For the first time ever, GPs will join forces with Chair of the Health Select Committee, Jeremy Hunt MP, to raise alarm bells on patient safety and launch a campaign to Rebuild General Practice.
The poll (of 1,395 GPs from across Great Britain and 107 in the East of England) found that:
- Over 9 in 10 GPs fear patients aren’t always safe at their surgeries
- Over 7 out of 10 GPs feel the risk to ‘patient safety’ is increasing
- GPs cited staff shortages and too little time for appointments as the main factors putting patients at risk –
- 87% of GPs stated they didn’t have enough time with patients
- 77% of GPs said GP shortages were putting patient safety at risk
GPs from across England, Scotland, and Wales are calling for more support to Rebuild General Practice which must include:
- Recruitment: The U.K. Government delivering on its commitment of an additional 6,000 GPs in England by 2024
- Retention: Tackling the factors driving GPs out of the profession such as burn out
- Safety: A plan to reduce GP workload and in turn improve patient safety
For a Q & A document detailing more about the campaign, please click here.
For a template letter to be shared with your local Politician to help back the campaign, please click here. (To find your local MP, please click on this link.)
