Top doctor ‘really worried’ GP will go the same way as dentistry –

General practice surgeries can go the same way as dentistry: with millions of people paying for appointments, the nation’s top doctor warned today.

Professor Martin Marshall, president of the Royal College of GP, admits he is “really concerned” about the industry grappling with a staffing crisis.

Family physicians prefer to retire at the age of 50, move abroad or work in the private sector due to increasing demand and paperwork.

Unless the situation changes dramatically, the UK’s taxpayer-funded GP sector could be left on its knees.

Professor Marshall warned he could see patients who couldn’t afford to pay with an “inadequate safety net.”

Although GP appointments are free, UK patients have to pay £23.80 for routine dental checkups.

Poorer patients say they have no choice but to extract their teeth or travel abroad for cheaper dental care.

In total, there are currently approximately 1,700 fewer full-time equivalent GPs compared to 2015. But estimates warn that the gap could widen even further.

It caused a severe dating crisis, making it harder for patients to see a doctor and increasing pressure on emergency departments.

Official health care data, which records the number of adults NHS dentists see over a 24-month period, show the drastic decline in the number of people going to the dentist since the pandemic. While people were struggling to access NHS dental services due to the lack of appointments prior to Covid, the situation was exacerbated by seeing 6 million fewer people than at pre-pandemic levels.

Millions of people are denied access to dental care after the number of NHS dentists fell to all-time lows last year

Professor Marshall’s comments were voiced today at a panel discussion on the future of general medicine hosted by the Policy Exchange think tank.

“Dentists are finding it increasingly difficult to offer the service they want to apply to their patients,” he said. [are] so go private

“And now we’re in a place where there’s a very poor safety net service for those who can’t afford it, and most people pay for dental care.

Can general practice move in this direction? It’s possible.’

Professor Marshall said “increasing numbers of GPs” have decided to practice privately across the country, “not just in large urban areas.”

“I’m very worried because whatever the NHS’ fundamental principle of public access is… [one’s] I think being able to pay is a very important principle.

“It’s such an important part of what’s important to us as a country as a set of values ​​that I’m very concerned about it. So yes, I’m worried.

On the NHS, only children, pregnant women, new mothers and people receiving assistance can receive free dental care.

Everyone else has to pay at least £23.80 for routine checkups, NHS diagnosis and advice and emergency care.

If done privately, an exam can cost up to £120, fillings can cost up to £175 and tooth extractions can cost up to £370.

As dental practices closed their doors to NHS patients, more patients had to go to the private sector as it was no longer financially viable to offer procedures at healthcare prices.

Around 90 percent of UK medical practices are no longer receiving new patients.

Patients have been known to call the offices of as many as 40 doctors to find an NHS dentist to take care of new patients.

Health leaders this week announced plans to alleviate the crisis with dentist appointments, forcing patients to wait up to two years instead of six months between checkups.

This is due to a general decrease in patient satisfaction with the general practice. A survey of 700,000 people in the UK with long-term health conditions found that only 72% of patients reported good experience with their surgery (shown on map)

The survey also revealed that more than half (55%) of patients who needed an appointment within 12 months by April were unable to get an appointment, compared to 42% in the previous year. The main reason for a quarter of patients was that it was too difficult to book one, while a fifth said they did not want to be a burden to the NHS.

In another move designed to relieve the pressure on dentists, dentists can now perform fillings and a variety of treatments.

Under previous guidance, therapists, who had only been trained to do routine work, had to wait for instructions on how to treat patients.

Dentists were also told to post up-to-date information on the possible admission of new NHS patients.

At the Policy Change event, Jacob Lant, chief of policy, public relations and research at Healthwatch UK, warned that the practice will follow in the footsteps of dentistry if patients are no longer affiliated with a practice.

“In 2006 we put an end to the idea of ​​having your own dental practice. Therefore, you are not registered with a dentist in the same way as a general practitioner.

“In theory, you can go anywhere. However, this makes access much more difficult.

“If we had to break the relationship between the patient and the practice, we could definitely be in the same place as dentistry.”

This is because patient satisfaction with the general practice has declined across the board.

A survey of 700,000 people in the UK with long-term health conditions found that more than half (55%) of patients who needed an appointment within 12 months by April were not able to get an appointment, compared to 42% the previous year.

A quarter of patients said the main reason was that it was too difficult to make a reservation, while a fifth said they did not want to be a burden to the NHS.

Patients have struggled to see a family doctor for checkups, treatment, and medication evaluations during the pandemic, as surgeries have replaced most phone and video consultations.