Sir - You published a letter from Dr Simon Parkinson in Worcester News (March 3) , emphasising the terrible workload of GPs generally. His comments came after a BBC survey found 56 per cent of GPs expected to leave before they were 60.
Dr Parkinson is secretary of the Worcestershire Local Medical Committee and his letter should be a warning to the government who always maintain that the NHS is the greatest in the world. The doctor went on to say that the average for female GPs retiring or leaving is between 37 and 39 ( 55 and 60 for men)
Apparently the problem is compounded by a serious shortage in young people training to be GPs or other health workers. People just don’t want to do it, despite our county being an attractive place to live.
Dr Parkinson himself is seriously considering retirement at 55 because he has never known it as bad as this in 28 years of being a GP. Health and Social Care Information figures show 297,922 registered patients with GPs in South Worcestershire alone, up 3290 since April 2013.
The doctor goes on to list many more reasons which are making a GPs life so unbearable but what will happen when all these new houses being planned or constructed in the country (by government decree) without little if any thought of new medical surgeries,schools etc.,are occupied,especially as the doctor has said “ People just don’t want to do it”?
Phil Pegler
Worcester
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