Some patients are resorting to DIY medical treatment because they cannot get a face-to-face appointment with a GP, according to new research.
More than one in four adults had tried to get an in-person consultation with a GP in their local area but were unable to do so. The research was commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, and carried out by Savanta ComRes, who surveyed 2,000 UK adults.
While some delayed seeing a doctor — or gave up altogether — the poll found that one in six (16 percent) of those who could not get an appointment either administered treatment themselves or asked somebody else who was not medically qualified to do so. It’s led the Lib Dems to call the findings ‘a national scandal’.
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The British Medical Association (BMA) called the results ‘worrying’. Dr Richard Van Mellaerts, BMA England GP committee deputy chair, said: “While self-care and consulting other services such as pharmacies and NHS 111 will often be the right thing to do for many minor health conditions, it is worrying if patients feel forced into inappropriate courses of action because they are struggling to book an appointment for an issue that requires the attention of a GP or a member of practice staff.
“The mismatch between capacity and demand is a symptom of the worsening crisis facing general practice and the NHS as a whole and is a frustration we share because it means we can’t deliver the timely care that we want to. GPs are working around the clock to try and keep up with unprecedented demand, offering around 7 in 10 appointments face-to-face, as well as remote consultations where safe to do so and also seeing patients in their own homes. In fact, almost 33 million appointments were delivered in England in November alone.
“As the Liberal Democrats point out, we desperately need more GPs and strong retention policies, like reviewing punitive pension tax rules. But to make the promise that patients would be guaranteed a GP appointment within one week is an impossible task without the Government and politicians from all sides truly understanding the issues facing the health service and staff on the ground.
“The NHS needs to be a place where people want to train, work, and stay, which is why unnecessary bureaucracy in general practice must also be scrapped; pay erosion addressed; and NHS estates finally made fit for purpose. Without this, we risk losing the precious few GPs we have left, and the ability for the NHS to provide any kind of primary care service at all.”
The survey, involving more than 2,000 adults also found that, in the past year, three out of four (72 percent) had tried to get a face-to-face GP appointment in their local area, with 43 percent proving successful while 29 percent were not. Of those who were unsuccessful, one in three (32 percent) said they delayed seeing a GP despite being in pain, while almost as many (31 percent) simply abandoned their attempt to get an appointment.
One in four (24 percent) said they purchased medication at a pharmacy or online without advice from a doctor, while one in five (19 percent) went to A&E. One in 10 (11 percent) paid for a private consultation and another 10 percent travelled a long distance to find a GP surgery that was offering appointments.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said the Government has repeatedly broken its promises to recruit more doctors, and called on ministers to bring in another 8,000 GPs. “This is a national scandal. Face-to-face GP appointments have become almost extinct in some areas of the country,” he said.
“We now have the devastating situation where people are left treating themselves or even self-prescribing medication because they can’t see their local GP. The British public pay their fair share to the NHS, but years of Government mismanagement and neglect of local health services has left millions unable to see their GP.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said that, as of last September, there were almost 2,300 more full-time equivalent doctors working in general practice compared with September 2019, while there were also record numbers in GP training.
“We recognise the pressures GPs are under and are working to increase access for patients,” the spokesman said. “This year GP teams have delivered 80,000 more appointments every working day compared to last year, and we plan to deliver over a million more appointments this winter by bolstering general practice teams with other professionals.
“Guidance is clear that GP practices must provide face-to-face appointments, alongside remote consultations – and over two-thirds of appointments in November were face to face.”
Savanta ComRes interviewed 2,061 UK adults aged 18 and over online between December 9 and 11.
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