article_snippet.sent: Senior GPs say Senior GPs are facing ‘incredible’ pressures brought on by an increasingly ageing population who have complicated illnesses, as well as having to chase targets.
article_snippet.sent: There is now a national recruitment crisis and many surgeries are short-staffed, with increasing numbers of GPs retiring or moving abroad.
article_snippet.sent: Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the BMA’s GP committee, said: ‘the poll lays bare the stark reality of the crisis facing the GP workforce.
article_snippet.sent: It is clear that incredible pressures on GP services are at the heart of this problem, with escalating demand having far outstripped capacity.
article_snippet.sent: ‘GPs are overworked and intensely frustrated that GPs do not have enough time to spend with GPs patients, especially the increasing numbers of older people with multiple and complex problems.
article_snippet.sent: But GPs in England claim GPs in England often work 12-hour days or longer, and that ten-minute appointment slots are not sufficient to meet patients’ needs.
article_snippet.sent: Dr Maureen Baker, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said the shortage of family doctors could have a ‘devastating impact’ on the future of the NHS.