There is no crisis in general practice, James Morris MP told the House of Commons health and social care committee inquiry into the future of general practice earlier this week.
“It wouldn’t be correct to assert that we have anything other than a major challenge in this area,” the newly-appointed primary care minister told the committee.
Other witnesses for the session included Dr Nikki Kanani, NHS England’s medical director for primary care, and Dr Amanda Doyle, NHS England’s director of primary care, both experienced NHS GPs.
Jeremy Hunt MP, chairing, asked James Morris if he would you use the word “crisis” to describe the state of general practice.
James Morris told the Committee: “The pandemic, rising demand and issues to do with the workforce are all big issues that need to be addressed over the long term.
“I think we have the tools and the means to be able to address those issues. There are no quick fixes, but, as we have discussed today, there are lots of elements in a changing landscape in primary care, and the approach the Government are taking is designed to address that. I would not use the word ‘crisis’, but we have a serious challenge.”
Dr Richard Fieldhouse, chair of NASGP, said: “Violent incidents at GP surgeries have doubled in five years, and patients are becoming increasingly frustrated when booking GP appointments.
“Even despite this, GPs are actually seeing more patients, so much so that the Office for National Statistics specifically cites the unexpected economic growth being better than expected due to GPs seeing more patients.
“If all this isn’t a recipe for a crisis then I don’t know what is. I did not have particularly high expectations for a GP workforce plan from Morris, but I hadn’t expected the plan to be burying his head in the sand.
“I sincerely hope that if he remains in post long enough, he will actually visit a range of GP practices and see the workforce crisis for himself.”
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