GPs across the Harrogate district have called for urgent public support to ensure the area’s practices can remain viable.

Local practices have publicly backed national campaign Rebuild General Practice, highlighting the need for urgent reform to keep doctors and patients safe.

Leeds Road Practice in Harrogate and Beech House Surgery in Knaresborough are among those to have shared a letter on their social media pages which highlights the pressures facing GPs.

The strongly-worded letter states that a quarter of GPs know a colleague who has taken their life because of work pressures, and almost 90% say they do not feel safe at work.

“General practice is in crisis. Not because of us, or the staff who work with us.

“It is because of decades of underfunding and neglect, broken government promises and political contempt for you – our patients – that the system is fractured.

“This crisis is putting you – and us – at an increased risk.”

In the Harrogate district, the statutory body representing and supporting GPs, YORLMC, is backing the campaign.

Its medical secretary, Dr Brian McGregor, told the Stray Ferret the district’s GPs are working extremely long hours, often unable to take holidays because there is no cover, and worried about burnout and making mistakes.

The national campaign for reform has been launched in association with Jeremy Hunt. As chairman of the health select committee, Dr McGregor said Mr Hunt believes general practice needs investment and support from the government.

Retention

In 2016, he said thousands of new GPs were needed and a recruitment campaign began. However, Dr McGregor said, they “completely took their eye off the ball” when it came to retention.

“We’re now in the position where we’re about 1,600 GPs down compared to 2016, but providing four times more appointments in a month.”

Some of that increase in appointments being provided is thanks to the rise of virtual and phone consultations during covid. They require less time than face-to-face appointments and are suitable for many patients’ needs, he said.

However, there are many cases where a face-to-face appointment is necessary, but he said demand for those is extremely high following the covid pandemic.

“Patients want good access to general practice but, as the numbers drop down and the demand has gone up, it’s not that the GPs aren’t working, it’s that the appointment you want has gone to your neighbour who called a bit quicker than you.”

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Dr McGregor said the situation in the Harrogate district has been exacerbated by house building, putting pressure on existing practices to accommodate more patients.

He said although housing developers have put money into pots for infrastructure including GP services, no new practices have been built or even planned across the district.

He added:

“Historically, Harrogate has been very attractive as a place to work compared to other areas in North Yorkshire which have struggled to recruit.

“Now, everywhere is struggling. Practices in Harrogate are advertising two, three, four times for places they can’t fill.

“In Scarborough, they were 1.5 GPs down per practice three or four years ago. Now Harrogate is getting to that position too.”

Backlog

While hospital waiting times have been in the headlines repeatedly since the beginning of the covid pandemic, Dr McGregor said the number of hospital doctors has actually risen by around 20% in that time – while GP numbers have dropped by up to 4%.

Hospitals and secondary care have been allocated £20bn of government money to deal with the backlog of work caused by covid, he said, but general practice has received nothing.

Now, through the Rebuild General Practice campaign, GPs are calling for the workplace plan, promised by the government in 2019, to be created.

It would set out how the problem of falling GP numbers would be tackled, focusing on retention as well as recruitment, and ensuring GPs can work in a way that is safe for both them and their patients.

“It’s really about recognising GPs are doing their best in very difficult circumstances. Just a simple ‘thank you’ rather than some of the aggression and abuse they are getting would help.

“Your GPs are working as hard as they can and providing as much access as they can and trying to keep everybody safe.

“We want to support patients in every way we can, but it’s about letting them know we are running on empty.”

Doctors’ leaders in North Yorkshire have said experienced frontline GP practice staff are being driven out of their jobs because of verbal abuse from patients.

They warned today that surgeries are experiencing a surge in demand for appointments and an aggressive minority is “making the working lives of reception and admin teams a misery”.

They said there had been a wave of resignations among experienced and skilled reception staff from a number of practices in North Yorkshire in recent months because they could no longer put up with the levels of verbal abuse and hostility.

YorLMC – the professional voice for NHS GPs and practice teams across North Yorkshire and City of York, called for the abuse to stop in a statement today.

Dr Brian McGregor, YorLMC’s medical secretary, said:

“Most patients recognise the brilliant job practice reception teams do, but regrettably, there are some who think it’s acceptable to shout, swear, belittle and threaten them and other staff.

“The cumulative impact of these instances of aggression, prejudice, threats and offensive language, is leading to some highly valued members of staff choosing to walk away from a job they’ve loved, while others say they now dread coming into work.

“The NHS is very clear – there is no place for this sort of aggressive behaviour and it has a zero tolerance approach to abuse. If a person is violent, abusive or threatening to their GP or any general practice staff, they could be permanently removed from the surgery.”

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Last week the Leeds Road practice in Harrogate urged patients to be respectful amid rising demand for appointments.

NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group clinical chair, Dr Charles Parker, added:

“We understand it’s a difficult time for patients. Surgery phone lines are busy, a lot of people want appointments and a lot of people have worries about their health they have been putting off, but now want dealing with quickly.

“However, it is not an excuse to shout, swear or threaten the people who are trying their hardest to help. Some of the abuse our practice teams have been receiving is verging on the criminal and has reduced even the most resilient and experienced members of staff to tears.”

Many patients are frustrated at not always being able to see their GP face-to-face.

But today’s statement said practice staff were skilled at finding the person “most appropriate to meet their clinical needs, which may not always be a GP or nurse”.