Shropshire GP backs calls to cut appointments to 25 a day
A GP has backed calls for doctors to be limited to 25 appointments a day, warning the current situation is not safe for patients.
Dr Mary McCarthy, a GP at Belvidere Medical Practice in Shrewsbury, says some doctors are seeing between 40 and 50 patients a day.
The British Medical Association has suggested that appointments should be lengthened to 15 minutes and limited to 25 a day in a bid to stop general practice being "run into the ground".
The proposals come as part of 'Safe Working Levels in General Practice', a report which discusses measures which could help tackle the growing workload of GPs.
Appointments are normally allocated 10 minutes, meaning that some doctors see up to 60 patients a day.
Dr McCarthy said: "At the moment in the UK, GPs can see 40 to 50 patients a day, many of them with complex diseases and multiple pathology.
"This is not safe for patients and not good for doctors.
In a presentation in Malta some months ago, I pointed out that those states which think that general practice is reasonable and sustainable, all have less than 25 doctor/patient contacts a day and this includes phone calls.
"When I was looking for some comparison figures I came across papers in American Journals that talked of the tension between high volume of patients and high-quality care. They decided that 20 clients a day was the highest number a professional could see without the quality of care declining. These, mind you, were in Journals of Veterinary Medicine. Surely we can treat our patients with the same care we give to animals?"
She added: "GPs are overwhelmed with demand and since they don't like to keep people waiting too long, they overbook their surgeries. Despite this most GPs now have waiting lists of two to three weeks unless it's an urgent appointment."
The BMA has said the current 10 minute appointments do not give GPs enough time to treat patients with complicated needs.
BMA GPs' executive team member Brian Balmer said:
"We need a new approach that shakes up the way patients get their care from their local GP. The consultation time needs to increase to 15 minutes.
General practice in the UK cannot be allowed to continue being run into the ground."
