‘Government must learn from mistakes of the past,’ RCGP responds to GP investment figures

The College has responded to figures published in the HSJ this morning showing the proportion of the NHS budget spent on general practice is at its lowest in 10 years.

Dr Munro Stewart, Vice Chair (Policy) of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: “General practice is delivering the vast majority of patient care with a shrinking share of the NHS budget. It is deeply concerning to see investment fall to its lowest proportion in over a decade. This impacts patients' ability to access their GP, and means that GPs around the country are having to work under increasingly unsafe conditions.

 “This is yet more evidence that, despite over a decade of promises to expand general practice, we have not had the funding or support to recruit and retain enough GPs to meet our patients’ needs. Demand for our care is rising, but the workforce has not kept pace, leaving GPs beyond capacity and affecting continuity of care for patients. 

“The College has long called for a greater share of NHS funding to be directed towards general practice. The Government must now learn from the mistakes of the past and use the upcoming 10-year workforce plan to set out how it will deliver the investment and workforce needed to ensure patients can access safe, timely care in their communities.”

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659

press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.