A WORCESTERSHIRE doctor has spoken out about the shortage of GPs across the county and has warned that the situation could yet worsen during traditionally busy autumn and winter periods.

Patients in Worcestershire have expressed their concerns and frustrations over difficulties in getting face-to-face appointments with their GPs since lockdown restrictions have been gradually relaxed.

NHS England and the Department of Health have supported the return of face-to-face GP appointments to pre-pandemic levels, however, Worcestershire GP practices are struggling to meet this demand, which will inevitably increase as the temperature drops over the coming months.

Dr Jason Seewoodhary, a city centre GP, said: "General Practice has traditionally been viewed as a 'family friendly' specialty, therefore, a significant number of doctors who choose to specialise in General Practice do so in order to yield the benefits of working part-time, which enables them to raise a family.

"This can range from half a day a week up to three days a week. This further compounds the difficulties in achieving a full-time workforce equivalent to meet the healthcare needs placed upon local GP services. 

"The number of full-time equivalent GPs per patient in England has dropped by 10 percent over the past five years whilst, over the same period, the number of patients registered with GP practices has risen by nearly 3.2 million, which is an increase of 5 percent. There is clearly a mismatch between supply and demand. 

"There are several reasons for the fall in GP numbers, from an aging and burnt-out workforce to struggles with recruitment and retention.

"The honest and frank issue of Brexit is also relevant - EU doctors in the UK constituted 9.7 percent of the medical workforce, which has fallen since Brexit.

"Leading on from this, with 37 percent of UK doctors being trained abroad, over half of them in Asia, there is potential for more foreign GPs to be recruited into the NHS.

"Thankfully, the EEA visa cap, which saw over 1,500 doctor visa applications being rejected in 2017/18, has now been lifted. This means caps on immigration from outside the EU no longer apply to doctors and nurses wanting to work in the UK."

Dr Seewoodhary also said that appointments often overrun, leading to many GPs working extensive amounts of unpaid overtime to fit in all their appointments.

"It’s fair to say that most GPs struggle to meet the demands of a 10-minute face-to-face consult - patients frequently present with multiple complex issues that can take up to an hour to sort out," he continued.

"This results in most GPs running late and working an extra 1-3 hours each day, which is not remunerated nor returned as time-in-lieu.

"Whilst neither the Department of Health nor the Royal College of General Practitioners stipulate a time restriction upon GP consultations, the somewhat arbitrary 10-minute consultation is put in place by most practices to meet the high-level healthcare demands of the community."

A survey by the British Medical Association done in April 2021 found that almost 50% of doctors are suffering from depression, anxiety, stress, or burnout. 

Additionally, it summarised that around 60% are experiencing ‘higher than normal’ levels of fatigue, and that nearly 30% have undertaken additional unpaid hours. 

However, Dr Seewoodhary insisted that plenty is being done to help combat the disparity in the supply and demand for appointments.

He said: "A lot is being done to address these issues - Worcester University is opening a private medical school in September 2022 and additionally GP training schemes in Hereford and Worcestershire have significantly expanded the number of places available to train junior doctors to become future GPs.

"Local Pharmacies, Urgent Care Centres, and the NHS Choices website can also provide advice, which supports the work of busy GP Practices.“