Gloucestershire GP appointment numbers may fall

GP practices are under pressure due to rises in the national living wage, it has been claimed

Gloucestershire GP surgeries may have to cut appointments due to staff costs.

The Local Medical Committee (LMC), which represents more than 500 GPs, said doctors in the county now have on average 1,975 patients each.

Chairman Bob Hodges, said: "The same number, or fewer, of GPs are seeing the same number of patients many more times."

He said the national living wage increase has put an "extraordinary amount of pressure" on practices.

The LMC represents more than 70 practices and 27% of GPs in Gloucestershire, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Speaking at a Gloucestershire County Council health overview and scrutiny committee meeting on Tuesday, Mr Hodges said they have "less than 10%" of the overall NHS budget and that "proportion has declined over the last few years".

"I liken the situation of being a GP to having 10% more people with twice as much wrong with them seeing 10% fewer GPs, twice as often," he said.

"The maths of that just don't work."

'Financially impossible'

According to Mr Hodges, Gloucestershire has around 349 full-time equivalent GPs serving a population of just under 690,000 patients.

"That averages out at 1,975 patients per general practitioner," he said.

"The British Medical Association has 1,600 as a target."

He warned councillors the rise in the national living wage was one of the main challenges practices face.

"GPs are financed per patient, per year. If our increase in funding does not match the increase in costs then there will be pressures," he said.

"We are getting to the point where there are a lot of practices which may reduce the capacity of appointments and reception because it's financially impossible to replace staff."