Dear Patients,
General Practice is under a lot of pressure and in recent years our workload has grown significantly. Our staff are working harder than ever to ensure that patient care is impacted as little as possible given the increase in demand.
Symphony Health Care recently published the current National GP Statistics, which we though would be useful to share with you.
Somerset General Practice Workload
• 300,000 consultations a month
• This is a 23% increase since Covid-19 emerged
• But 30% increase in demand at the same time
• 14% reduction in GPs in 5 years (45 fewer GPs)
• 42% of consultations delivered on day of contact
• 40% more delivered within 2 weeks of contact
Changes in number of appointments
· Between the end of 2017 and the end of 2023, there has been a 31% increase in General Practice appointments. This equates to an extra 6.8 million appointments, which is now 29 million.
· Some of this is delivered by new professionals (Primary Care Practitioner, Musculoskeletal Practitioners etc.) but there has also been an 11.7% increase in GP appointments. This equates to an extra 1.4 million appointments, which is now 13.4 million.
Changes in GP workforce
· Between the end of 2017 and the end of 2023, full time equivalent (FTE) means GPs working 4 days. So, a GP working 2 days is 0.5 FTE.
· Full-time equivalent (FTE) GPs reduced by 5.6%
· Equates to 1,900 fewer GPs (26,700 now)
· So, an FTE GP now delivers 18% more appointments/month
· Equates to extra 76 appointments (493 now)
We thank you for your continued support and we understand that at times it can be frustrating, but please bear with us as we are doing all that we can.
Yours faithfully
Crown Medical Centre