Dear Patients of Robin Hood Lane Health Centre,
We want to explain why GP practices across England, including ours, are taking action. We believe you deserve to understand the challenges we’re facing and why we feel this action is necessary to protect the future of general practice.
The Crisis in General Practice
- Shortage of GPs:
- There are 2000 fewer GPs now than in 2015.
- Last year, nearly 3,500 GPs quit – the highest number ever recorded.
- We’re losing experienced staff faster than we can train new ones.
- Overwhelming Workload:
- Each GP is now responsible for about 2300 patients, up from 2006 in 2018.
- Many GPs work over 50 hours a week and see more than 40 patients a day.
- This heavy workload puts both doctors and patients at risk.
- Funding Cuts:
- Since 2019, General Practice practice funding in England has dropped by £350 million in real terms.
- We now get only 5.6% of the NHS budget, even though we handle 90% of patient contacts.
- We need a 10.7% increase in funding just to restore funding to 2018-2019 levels.
- Increased Demand:
- The number of patients needing our care has risen to record levels.
- Many patients have complex health needs that require more time and resources.
- Unfair Contract:
- The government has forced a new contract on GP practices that doesn’t provide what we need to save general practice.
- This contract doesn’t give us the resources or support to meet the growing demands on our services.
The Impact on Your Care
These issues mean we’re struggling to:
- Offer you appointments as quickly as we’d like
- Spend as much time with you during consultations as we feel you need
- Provide all the services we want to offer
- Keep experienced staff from leaving the
- Attract new staff to join practices
We’re taking this action because we care deeply about providing you with the best possible healthcare. We believe that without significant changes:
- The quality of care we can offer will suffer
- More GP practices (including our own) may be forced to close
- Patient safety could be at risk due to overworked staff
Our goal is not to increase GPs’ pay, but to secure better funding for better services that both GPs and patients want. We’re fighting for a stronger, more responsive GP service that benefits everyone in our community.
Thank you for your understanding and support as we work to improve general practice for all.
Sincerely, The Team at Robin Hood Lane Health Centre