Surgeries cannot recruit GPs for love nor money, doctor says

Dr Bangi said the general presumption that doctors were doing less was not true

A £250m package aimed at increasing the number of doctors will not work because surgeries "can't get GPs for love nor money", a doctor has said.

Doctors have been told to see more patients face-to-face after ministers set up a winter rescue package so surgeries can employ more staff.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the money would help ease GPs' burden.

However, Leyland's Dr Gora Bangi said his job had become "so daunting and horrible", no-one wanted to do it.

The fall in face-to-face appointments has been cited as a key factor in long waits in A&Es and the funding, part of an extra £5bn Covid fund announced in September, is intended to fund locum doctors and other temporary staff, such as physiotherapists and podiatrists, at surgeries.

'Drained out'

Dr Bangi said recruitment was difficult as despite there being new GPs "coming through the system, the job is so daunting and horrible now, no-one wants to do it full-time".

He said that putting more money in was just "putting wages up, because there's a lesser and lesser pool of clinicians".

"What the answer seems to be is just give more money and that will sort it out," he said.

"No, what we need is GPs."

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the funding would help ease the burden on GPs

He added that the general presumption was that doctors were doing less, as the amount of appointments being done face-to-face had dropped from 80% to 60%, but that was not true.

"Every time you phone somebody and decide that... you need to bring them in, that's a wasted appointment," he said.

"So actually, GPs are doubling up on appointments."

He said his colleagues "currently work six days a week in general practice and most days are well over 12 to 14 hours", adding: "My staff are drained out."

Mr Javid said earlier that the new GP rescue package would "help relieve pressure on the whole system" by providing "investment and targeted support".

"This will tackle underperformance, taking pressure off staff, so they can spend more time with patients, and increase the number of face-to-face appointments."

He added that the government was committed to the hiring of more GPs and doctors.

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