Medical Students - as a practice we are very interested in the training of our future doctors. We currently have 3rd year medical students attending every Tuesday from Glasgow University. If they are present when you come to see the doctor please help us to train them.
GP training - We have fully qualified doctors who come to us as part of their post graduate GP training. Following graduation doctors must undergo 4-5 years of further training to be allowed to practice independantly as a GP. Our current trainees are Dr Deborah Scroggie and Dr Martin McKee.
Why your GP is facing a crisis
Government policy and changes in public health have pushed the GP system to the brink of disaster. This is how it breaks down.
Are you struggling to book an appointment with your GP? You’re not the only one. A combination of factors has put our family doctors in a really difficult position:
1. Doctor workload has increased by 20%
Britain’s GPs have to deal with 20% more consultations in 2013 than they did in 2008 – that’s an extra 60 million consultations a year.
A report for the Royal College of General Practitioners predicts that demand for GP appointments will have risen by an additional 12% by 2016
Why has demand shot up so much?
There are simply more people now than 2008
2. But the budget for general practice has stayed the same
Even though their workload has gone up by at least 20% since 2008, funding for GPs has stayed flat and looks likely to fall in the next five years.
GP practices only get funding for you to visit them twice a year.
3. The result? GPs are turning away patients
Demand has risen so sharply that GPs have to turn increasingly large numbers of people away. In 2013 41.9 million people were unable to get an appointment with their doctor. Some surgeries may stop taking on new patients.
And for those who do get an appointment, the average waiting time could be two weeks by 2015, according a survey of GPs by Pulse.
4. Because of this, more people are going straight to A&E for treatment
This means the crisis gets shunted into other parts of the health system: A quarter of the people going to A&E are doing it because they can’t get a GP appointment, according to research by Imperial College.
Between 2008 and 2013, A&E admissions went up by 3 million.
One reason that’s bad for the NHS? It’s much more expensive.
The average cost of an attendance at A&E is easily double that of a GP appointment.
GP practices are inexpensive. They deal with 90% of all people who contact the NHS, while only receiving about 8% of the budget.
5. Meanwhile, GPs are getting burnt out with the workload…
Here’s what they told the British Medical Association:
- 94% of GPs said their workload has increased in the last year
- 97% of GPs said that bureaucracy and box ticking had increasedin the past year
- 86% of GPs reported a reduction in their moralein the past year
- 6. Early retirement is looming…
Six out of 10 GPs are considering early retirement and more than a third are actively planning for this decision.
7. …while one in seven GPs wants to leave the UK
And the doctors who aren’t retiring? Well, a lot of them are considering immigrating to places such as Australia. 5,000 doctors a year consider leaving the NHS to work abroad.
8. And the next generation of doctors? They don’t want to be GPs
There’s also currently a GP training crisis, as newly-qualified doctors choose not to go into general practice. The number of people applying for postgraduate GP training fell by 15% last year, calling the government’s recruitment targets very much into question. Some areas of the UK had no new applicants.
In conclusion:
- Doctors have to see more people – they’re only going to get busier.
- They’re getting demoralised and leaving the profession.
- There’s no money to employ more of them; and even if the money was there, there’s a shortage of qualified people.
- The recruitment shortage is only making things worse for the GPs still remaining.
- A lack of GPs is costing the NHS money, because sending everyone to A&E is much more expensive.
Please support campaigns to help your GP provide the care we want to.
*It should be noted that we did NOT compile this information. It was taken from another source.
Additional Services within the Health Centre
Do you need Physio? - Do you have a muscle or joint problem? For advice and self care information you can visit www.nhsinform.co.uk/msk or phone 0800 917 9390 to speak to one of the trained advisors. Lines are open Monday-Friday 9am to 5pm.
Toe nail cutting service- The Podiatry Service has been working with Age Concern, Falkirk, to help them establish a toenail cutting service. This service commenced 1st April 2011 and is a pilot for one year but if it proves successful it is hoped that it will continue. To help cover the cost of the service Age Concern are charging £10 per client. Call 07984 489 673 and leave your name & telephone number. You must be over 50 years old.