‘Patients Still Struggling’: RCGP Responds to CQC’s State of Care

Responding to the CQC’s State of Care report, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said:

"The CQC is right on this: if the government is going to realise its aspiration to deliver more care outside of hospitals, we need to see a major shift in investment into community services, including into general practice, to facilitate this.

“While by many metrics we’ve seen patient satisfaction with GP access rise over the last year, today’s report highlights that too many patients are still struggling to access the care they need, and that some – often our most vulnerable - are struggling more than others.

“It makes clear that those living in areas of higher deprivation, as well as patients living with autism, learning disabilities, mental health problems and other long term health conditions are more likely to report issues with GP access. These are not standalone issues; we know that health inequalities are entrenched across the NHS and across the country, and we must do more to address this. The government’s forthcoming review of GP regional funding formula will be a good start in helping to funnel investment into the communities that need it most – but there are clearly other barriers we need to understand to make general practice as accessible as possible to everyone.

“GPs and our teams are working harder than ever to deliver the care and services our patients need. In the 12 months until June this year, a record 383 million consultations were delivered in general practice - equivalent to more than a million a day and 80 million more than in 2019. But we are struggling to meet growing demand, and we know that when patients can’t access the care, they need in the community they often turn to hospitals. This isn’t what’s best for patients or for the NHS. 

“We agree with the government’s aspiration to move more care away from hospitals and into the community – this is where it is more cost-effective and where patients want to receive it. All community health services need more resources, but general practice plays a vital  central role to our communities. To make this a reality, we need to see significant investment in core general practice funding to improve access, tackle health inequalities and ensure timely, safe and quality care for all patients.”

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.