Spending on patient care set to plummet by millions, warn GP leaders

The amount of money allocated to GPs to care for their patients is set to fall by nearly £200m over the next three years- equivalent to the current funding for 1.2 million patients, according to predictions from GP leaders. 

 The stark warning comes from the Royal College of General Practitioners who say that the proportion of NHS funding being spent on general practice has been falling for successive years, with GP practices being starved of the resources they need to meet the growing needs of patients and to safeguard the future of patient care.

Only 9% of the NHS budget in England was spent on general practice in 2010/11, even though GPs see over 1 million patients per day and 90% of all NHS activity takes place in general practice.

“Most GPs want to help alleviate pressure on hospitals, including on A&E, with a shift in care back to the community, but this must be matched with adequate resourcing and we cannot continue to juggle an ever-increasing workload with a decreasing workforce.