Dorset GP says more money needed to fix ‘broken’ system

Dr Lisa Nayler says she is consistently working above the recommended number of patient contacts

A GP says more funding is needed to fix what she describes as a "broken" health and social care system.

Dr Lisa Nayler, who has been a GP in Dorset for 20 years, says doctors have been overworked, without respite, since the start of the pandemic.

She says winter pressures "just don't exist" with workloads now exceeding recommended levels all year round.

The government said it was investing £1.5bn to create an additional 50 million GP appointments by 2024.

Dr Nayler, who is based in Poole, said: "What we need to do is fund our healthcare service properly and we need to fund our social care services properly as well because at the moment the system is broken.

"We are consistently working above the recommended number of patient contacts.

"Winter pressures just don't exist any more. What used to happen was things used to get a bit better in the summer so you would get a bit of a respite."

'Responding to challenges'

The European Union of General Practitioners and the British Medical Association have recommended the safe level of patient contacts per day in order for GPs to deliver safe care was no more than 25. Dr Nayler says she regularly sees more than 30.

She said, as well as seeing patients, doctors also had huge amounts of paperwork, which meant they would often still be in the surgery at 20:00 or 21:00.

That can be issuing sick notes, dealing with repeat prescription requests or reading letters sent by hospital consultants.

She said: "In the last 12 years, we have seen a reduction in NHS funding and that is reflected in how the NHS is behaving at the moment."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We prioritised health and social care in the autumn statement, investing up to £14.1bn over the next two years on top of record funding to reduce waiting times and return performance to pre-pandemic levels.

"We are investing at least £1.5bn to create an additional 50 million general practice appointments by 2024 - this is in addition to a £4.5bn real terms annual increase for primary and community care.

"We will publish a Primary Care Recovery Plan this year responding to the challenges facing the sector."