Top doctors call for major change to GP appointments that would impact millions
MILLIONS of patients may have to wait even longer for GP appointments, under new guidance.
The average waiting time for a non-urgent, , according to a survey conducted this year.
However, in new guidance to reduce mounting workloads, GPs have been urged to switch to a new appointment system that could see patients with non-urgent issues waiting weeks for a consultation.
Updated , issued by the (BMA) advised that patients should be placed on waiting lists based on clinical need.
Patients who are able to wait should be placed on the waiting list in order to help practices deal with the "unmanageable" pressure they are currently facing.
However, GPs have recently been told to give every patient who wants one an appointment within two weeks, under pledges from Health Secretary Therese Coffey.
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The new “” will name and shame practices with the longest waits, in a bid to drive up performance.
The BMA also reminded GPs they only have to provide an "assessment" of patients with emergency health problems and they can send them straight to hospitals
This comes as the number of NHS GPs working full-time in England has fallen by a quarter in five years - meaning demand for appointments is now outstripping capacity.
Last week, the Government announced GPs would be given assistants so they have more time to see and treat patients this winter.
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Their help is expected to reduce the amount of and processing letters by up to 85 per cent.
As part of wider plans to free-up doctors' time, health bosses have said patients will be if they turn down two appointments.
The threat comes despite hospitals themselves this year – a 20 per cent jump compared to 2019.
Efforts to clear the backlog could be further hit by a seven billion NHS cash shortfall by 2025 – around five per cent of its budget.
Meanwhile, hospitals have announced they will be bringing back face masks as Covid cases climb again.
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At least eight major NHS trusts have reinstated the rule ahead of what medics fear will be a bumpy winter.
Official figures show virus cases are on the rise, with a 14 per cent increase last week to a total of one million across the UK.
Ask before you exercise?
HEALTH bosses were slammed for telling Brits to ask their GP before exercising.
NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency said in recent guidance: “Remember to speak to your GP before starting any exercise plans.”
Prof Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “GPs don’t have the capacity to sign off every patient’s individual exercise plan.”
Dr John Hughes told Pulse magazine: “It’s absolutely typical of the idiocy that comes out of NHS England from people who don’t understand what GPs actually do."