News | GP crisis


downsmail.co.uk GP services ‘struggle to cope’


ASURGE in housebuilding and a national shortage ofGPs is puing doctors and patients under unprecedented pressure,writes Dawn Kingsford.


More complex medical condi-


tions and treatments, alongside recruitment competition from London and a burgeoning popu- lation, have resulted in a shrink- ing number of Maidstone and Malling GPs, each with greater workloads. Now, for the first time, patients


are encountering an average wait of almost 15 days for a routine appointment,with one in five fac- ingmore than threeweeks. Downs Mail has discovered


that a typical local doctor has in excess of 2,000 patients on their books. Thisworks out to an aver- age of 200 more than GPs else- where in the UK. The situation is exacerbated by


stressed doctors taking early re- tirement, while medical students


MP calls for improvement


to health care CONSERVATIVE MP Helen Whately admits there is no doubt getting an appointment is diffi- cult, with some patients taking themselves toAccident and Emer- gency (A&E) instead. She wants to see an improve-


ment in services; more joined-up health and social care and better mental health care. She told Downs Mail that al-


though each year the NHS pro- videsmillionswith excellent care, shocking cases have emerged where patients have been treated appallingly. She adds: “Healthcare affects us


all, whether we’re patients our- selves or our families and friends. As a parent, I make regular trips to the GP with my children and occasional visits toA&E too. “The major hospitals around


this area are all in difficulties and many GP surgeries are full to bursting,with patients queuing at 8amfor appointments.” The MP admits the problem


isn’t limited to just West Kent, with “GPs and hospitals around the country struggling to cope”. She said: “It’s easy to be critical


but not necessarily helpful. I use these services too, and I want the NHS to provide excellent care to everyonewho needs it.”


28 Maidstone November 2019


opt for careers away fromgeneral practice. The BritishMedicalAssociation


inKent says doctors nowneed ur- gent help to copewith the recruit- ment crisis. BMA GP committee chair Dr


GauravGupta said: “There is a se- rious recruitment crisis in general practice, which has affected Kent particularly badly. “Doctors are increasingly being


expected to do more with less, and patient care inevitably suffers as a result.” She added: “GPs and practice


staff are going above and beyond to cover the shortfall, and funding promised in the new GP contract will help, but practices and pa- tients face these problems now. We need immediate solutions.”


The West Kent Clinical Com-


missioning Group (CCG), which provides GP services to half-a- million NHS patients, including those in Maidstone and Malling, says it has nearly 19 full-time doc- tor vacancies. It describes GP recruitment as


“challenging”. Its chair, Dr Bob Bowes, admit-


ted: “We do need to work smarter. There are six timesmore patients than when I started in 1987.” This smarter working has seen


the CCG urging surgeries to use “care navigation” to point pa- tients to other services and to re- cruit staff, other thanGPs, to ease pressure on primary care. Aspokesman said: “Not all care needs to be provided by a GP,


and practices are being encour- aged to recruit a broad range of clinicians and healthcare profes- sionals to meet their patients’ needs. “Where these are not in place,


we are working with practices to recruit additional staff, such as so- cial prescribing link workers and clinical pharmacists, to work in the newly-formed Primary Care Networks.” He said West Kent Training


Hub has a “comprehensive plan to address recruitment and reten- tion” and the Kent and Medway Medical School (a collaboration between Canterbury Christ Church University and Univer- sity ofKent), opening in 2020,will assist GP recruitment in the long term.


New estate’s surgery set to become a restaurant


PATIENTS unable to get an ap- pointment will be shocked by news that a purpose-built doctor’s surgery near West Malling could be turned into a restaurant. Taylor Wimpey said this week


that having built the 4,245 sq ft sur- gery for its 1,000 home Leybourne Chase estate, its future as amedical centre looks dead in thewater. The developer is now in talks


with Tonbridge and Malling Bor- ough Council with a view to get- ting a change ofuse onthepractice. Aspokesman said: “We can con-


firm that the shell of the doctor’s surgery remains unoccupied, de- spite over three years ofmarketing. “We are keen to enhance the vil-


lage centre by finding a suitable oc- cupant for this unit, and are, therefore, opening discussions with the planning authority to ex- plore the possibility of changing the use of the building.” The spokesman added that uses


could include a restaurant, shop, business or leisure facility – not what those moving into the area were promised. Leybourne Borough councillor


Nick Stapleton (pictured) believes there needs to be a champion to take up the cause if infrastructure promises fail tomaterialise.


He said: “This is a vicious circle


that needs to be addressed. It seems each party in this equation has donewhatwas asked of them, but the Clinical Commissioning Group hasn’t factored it in; it sim- ply hasn’t come together and no- one is stepping up to remedy the situation.” He added: “I’m sure people


movedhere because theywere told it would have a doctor’s surgery. Now, these newhomeownerswill join patients in West Malling, which is already under enormous strain.” Mr Stapleton, who is himself a


patient at West Malling Medical Practice, said: “It’s almost impossi- ble to get an appointment andpeo-


ple are queuing out of the door. There are already plans to close all but two rooms of the high street surgery andmake it available only to those who cannot make it to KingsHill.” He conceded: “It could be that


one doctor would feel isolated here, or it may be too costly, but this surgery could take patients fromRyarsh andWestMalling and some of the pressure off theirwait- ing lists. This all should have been thought about at the beginning of the planning process.” WestKentCCGsaid the practice


provided by Taylor Wimpey had “not been identifiedby theNHS as required to deliver primary med- ical services”.


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