Liberal Democrats, who commissioned the survey, have branded the results as a “national scandal.” The party argues this is due to the government’s “mismanagement and neglect” of local health systems.
New research indicates that some ill Britons are resorting to do-it-yourself medical remedies. Because they cannot get an appointment with a family doctor.
According to a survey by Savanta ComRes, more than 25 percent of persons have attempted to have an in-person consultation with a general practitioner in their local area within the past 12 months but were unsuccessful.
While others delayed visiting a doctor or gave up entirely, approximately 16% of individuals. Who were unable to secure an appointment instead treated themselves or asked someone who was not medically trained to do so.
Liberal Democrats, who commissioned the survey, have branded the results as a “national scandal.” The party argues this is due to the government’s “mismanagement and neglect” of local health systems.
72% of the more than 2,000 persons surveyed had attempted to obtain a face-to-face GP. That;s appointed in their local area within the previous year. 43% were successful, whereas 29% were unsuccessful.
Of those who were unable to obtain an appointment. 32% postponed seeing a doctor despite being in discomfort, while 31% simply gave up trying.
In contrast, 24% of respondents stated they purchased medication from a pharmacy. Or online without consulting a physician, while 19% visited an emergency room.
In addition, 11% of respondents paid for a private consultation and 10% traveled a great distance to find a GP clinic with open slots.
In response to the survey results, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, stated that the government had consistently broken. Its commitments to recruit more physicians and urged ministers to hire an additional 8,000 general practitioners.
“This is a national scandal,” he stated. In some regions of the country, face-to-face doctor visits have nearly vanished.
People are forced to self-treat or even self-prescribe drugs since they are unable to see their local physician.
The British population pays its fair contribution to the NHS. But years of government mismanagement and neglect of local health services have left millions unable to see a general practitioner.
In response, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care stated that there will be about 2,300 more full-time equivalent physicians working. In general, practice in September 2022 compared to September 2019 – and that record numbers are in training.
The spokesperson stated, “We recognize the pressures GPs face and are working to expand patient access.”
This year, GP teams have provided 80,000 more appointments every working day compared to the previous year. And we expect to provide over a million additional appointments this winter by boosting general practice teams with other experts.
“The guidance is explicit that GP practices must offer face-to-face appointments in addition to virtual consultations. More than two-thirds of November appointments were face-to-face.”
