Chronic shortage of Lincolnshire GPs amid rising demand, report finds

Increased demand and GPs retiring have exacerbated the problem, health bosses said

Lincolnshire is facing a predicted shortage of more than 200 doctors over the next four years, according to a report.

The document, to be heard by the county council's health scrutiny committee on Wednesday, also suggests a range of measures to address the shortfall.

These include prioritising self-care and asking patients to see other healthcare professionals.

Dr Kieran Sharrock, who represents local GPs, said the situation in the county was getting worse.

"The increasing demand that we're receiving means a lot of GPs are thinking they can't cope with being a doctor so they're going part-time or retiring early," he added.

Dr Sharrock said there was also an "ageing population of GPs" locally.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the county has found it difficult to recruit and retain healthcare staff over the past decade.

In 2016, another report said 415 GPs were required to serve the population of Lincolnshire but only 340 were in post.

Dr Sharrock, who is medical director for Lincolnshire Local Medical Committee, said it was not just doctors, but also nurses and other health professionals.

"Patients sometimes have to understand that if they ring up and ask to see a GP we might say can you see a pharmacist, a physical therapist or a nurse practitioner.

"That's why they need to be able to tell our receptionists what the problem is so we can get them seen by the most appropriate person," Dr Sharrock added.

He said the newly-opened medical school at the University of Lincoln would help in the long-term, but, as it took 10 years to train a GP, "that doesn't solve the problem immediately".

The Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group, working with the Whole Systems Partnership, said in the report there would be a shortage of 220 "autonomous" practitioners by 2025.

"This needs to be addressed," the report said.