Warning about patient safety, according to survey, 87% of GPs say they’re very profited by the job –

According to a survey conducted today, nine out of ten doctors fear patient safety because appointments are too short and doctors are too few.

The pressure puts them at risk of making mistakes or overlooking life-threatening illnesses as they go through record numbers of consultations.

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt, along with key primary care doctors, will today urge ministers to increase the NHS workforce.

Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (pictured) joins the effort, speaking at the launch of the Rebuild General Practice campaign

Professor Martin Marshall (pictured) of the Royal College of General Practitioners said he has not seen GP numbers as low as they are now.

The Conservative MP will speak at the start of the Rebuild General Practice campaign, which warns that primary care is in a “crisis” as the NHS in England has lost nearly 2,000 doctors since 2015.

The campaign’s survey of 1,395 primary care physicians shows that 87% of patients fear that patients are not always safe in surgery, and 70% believe the risk is increased. About 86% say they have too little time per patient, and 77% think they have too few primary care physicians.

Doctors usually see 45 patients a day, 20 more patients than unions consider safe. The campaign calls for 6,000 new GPs by 2024, better staffing and less workload. Family doctors recorded a record 366.7 million appointments in 2021, with nearly 6.5 million appointments for every person in the country.

Professor Martin Marshall of the Royal College of General Practitioners said last week: ‘I’ve been a family practitioner for over 30 years… I’ve never seen anything so low. Few primary care physicians I know are constantly afraid of making a prescription or diagnostic error.