UPDATE (26/7/22): The NHS Responds. Why Is It that GPs ("Doctors") Are On Huge NHS Pay But Patients Can't Get Appointments?

 

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UPDATE (26/7/22)

We asked the NHS to respond to the patient's letter to the Weston Mercury, asking them:

"We are writing to you because we believe that you are responsible for managing the supply and demand of GP care in North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire."

A spokesperson for NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB, said:

“GP practices are working hard, and are seeing more people than ever to make sure everyone can access the right support when they need it; whether that’s online or face-to-face. Surgery teams are growing, and patients may be offered an appointment with a specialist, such as an advanced nurse practitioner, physiotherapist, or clinical pharmacist rather than a GP.

“More than 5.5m appointments were carried out in GP practices across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire during 2021; with 442,207 appointments carried out in June 2022 alone.

"All appointments within primary care are triaged, with appointments offered based on the clinical needs of the individual. The majority of the time, people are seen on the same day as their appointment request; and in many cases, conditions can be managed remotely. However, if a person’s condition means they need a face-to-face appointment, or if they would prefer this, this will be offered."

Does this answer the patient?

Do you think they should be doing better?

What do you think of GP pay?

Tell us what you think. 

You can message us on Facebook at Somerset Independents, or Twitter @SomerInds or email us at somerinds (at) gmail.com. Or you can phone us on 07591691543.

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Doctors are on double, treble or even quadruple the average weekly earnings. So why can't patients get an appointment?

Somerset Independents puts residents first. Residents regularly complain that they struggle to get appointments at their local General Practitioner (GP) - their doctor. The Weston Mercury published a letter from a patient, which we quote here:

"I recently needed an appointment with the doctor, so I telephoned at 8am and eventually, somebody answered.

I was told that I was number 18 in the queue! So, I waited and at 9am I spoke to a lady who told me that the only doctor’s appointment I could have was in 23 days’ time. 

I asked why Congresbury Surgery was not open and I was told that Congresbury has no longer got a surgery, it is now an admin centre. 

So, a purpose-built doctor’s surgery with examination rooms, a good size waiting room and a reception area is now being used for two or three people to write letters! 

People like me, who face having to wait over three weeks, are going to put more pressure on the A&E and ambulance service because whereas now a 10-minute doctor’s appointment would have got things sorted out; by waiting longer thing are going to get worse! 

How can a village the size of Congresbury be stripped of a doctor’s surgery like this? 

In fact, there’s a small office to rent only 50 yards away, why couldn’t this be used as an admin centre and the surgery opened?"

So we have investigated the pay of GPs (doctors).

According to NHS figures, the estimated figures for GPs in England were in 2019/20 (later figures are not yet available):

"The estimated average income before tax of GPs in either a General Medical Services or a Primary Medical Services practice was:

£100,700 for combined (contractor and salaried) GPs

£121,800 for contractor GPs

£63,600 for salaried GPs"

The NHS negotiates with the trade union for GPs, the British Medical Association (BMA). GP pay is determined by these negotiations. The pay for each GP varies above or below the average stated above, depending on the contract that they have.

 

But if we convert the above figures to weekly figures and compare with average weekly earnings, you can see that GPs in England on average get two, three of four times the average pay in England.

 

(1) £100,700 converts to £1936.53 per week

(2) £121,800 converts to £2342.30 per week

(3) £63,600 converts to £1223.07 per week

 

According to the Office for National Statistics, the Average Weekly Earnings in May 2022 was £601 per week.

 

This converts to £31252 per year.

 

So a GP on (1) gets over THREE TIMES the average pay.

A GP on (2) gets almost FOUR TIMES the average pay.

And a GP on (3) gets over TWO TIMES the average pay.

 

And bearing in mind the above NHS figures are from 2019/20, not 2022.

 

GP pay will have increased since then!

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