Petition to save general practice - England
Despite carrying out 90% of all NHS patient contacts, general practice only receives 8.39% of the NHS budget in the UK — an historic low. By 2017, this is projected to plunge to just 7.29%.
As a result, general practice is facing a growing crisis.
Due to the sheer volume of GP workloads, in this year alone, patients will have to wait longer than a week to see their GP on at least 27m occasions.
And, according to a poll carried out in March, more than three fifths of the public now believe that the number of patient consultations carried out by GPs — up to 60 per day — is threatening the level of patient care.
To protect high quality services for all patients, we need to call on the Prime Minister to increase the share of the NHS budget spent on general practice in England to 11% by 2017.
This shift in funding would enable general practice to deliver:
- Shorter waiting times for appointments and more flexible opening hours
- Longer consultations, especially for people with long term conditions
- More opportunity for patients to see a GP who knows them
- Better care co-ordination and planning, especially for the elderly and those with complex needs
- Positive benefits for the NHS as a whole, reducing pressure on hospitals
GP surgeries sit at the heart of local communities. We need to demand that the Government acts now to ensure practices have the resources they need to continue to provide the high quality care patients deserve.
If you would like to support the Campaign please visit:
http://www.rcgp.org.uk/campaign-home/get-involved/petition/petition-england.aspx
