GPs carried out nearly half a million appointments in Dorset in March 2021 GP PRACTICES in Dorset saw a sharp spike in activity during March, with tens of thousands more appointments recorded than in the previous month. Doctors groups have warned that GPs could buckle under the pressure of unsustainable workloads as they juggle rising numbers of appointments with the Covid-19 vaccine rollout. NHS Digital data shows doctors carried out 428,372 appointments with patients at surgeries in the NHS Dorset CCG area in March – 79,247 more than in February. That was also 42,555 more than during the same month last year, at the start of the pandemic.
Viewpoint: Patients and GPs are unhappy with access to general practice, what s the solution?
Practices are deluged with work, yet many people still think they are ‘closed’. The Doctors Association UK (DAUK) has called for a review into why access to primary care is so problematic. Here Dr Ellen Welch and Dr Louise Hyde, GPs with DAUK, discuss the reasons and some possible solutions.
by Dr Ellen Welch and Dr Louise Hyde
Dr Louise Hyde (left) and Dr Helen Welch, GPs with the Doctors Association UK
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GP practices in Dorset saw a sharp spike in activity during March, with tens of thousands more appointments recorded than in the previous month. Doctors groups have warned that GPs could buckle under the pressure of unsustainable workloads as they juggle rising numbers of appointments with the Covid-19 vaccine rollout. NHS Digital data shows doctors carried out 428,372 appointments with patients at surgeries in the NHS Dorset CCG area in March – 79,247 more than in February. That was also 42,555 more than during the same month last year, at the start of the pandemic. Demand soared at GP practices across England, with every CCG area in the country recording a significant uptick in activity.
GP surgeries in Wirral saw a steep rise in appointments throughout March GP practices in Wirral saw a spike in activity during March, with tens of thousands more appointments recorded than in the previous month. Doctors groups have warned that GPs could buckle under the pressure of unsustainable workloads as they juggle rising numbers of appointments with the Covid-19 vaccine rollout. NHS Digital data shows doctors carried out 212,085 appointments with patients at surgeries in the NHS Wirral CCG area in March – 33,940 more than in February. That was also 65,981 more than during the same month last year, at the start of the pandemic.