Sixty seconds on . . . finding a GP
BMJ 2023; 380 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p397 (Published 17 February 2023) Cite this as: BMJ 2023;380:p397
Not more complaints about appointments?
No, this is about a GP in desperate need of a doctor to replace a retiring colleague in the Cornish town of Lostwithiel. Justin Hendriksz’s failure to recruit anyone led to some creative thinking.
Help! I need somebody?
Spot on. Hendriksz’s call for help from the local community led to the Lostwithiel Needs a Doctor social media campaign1 featuring 500 townspeople singing the praises of the town and their ailments (Video 1).
Lostwithiel Needs a Doctor
Not just anybody?
Absolutely not. The doctor needs to be someone who appreciates the attractions that the small rural town has to offer, sings the Lost in Song community choir—including the River Fowey, a castle, local dining spots, and a mainline railway station. An image of a blank cheque is accompanied by the words, “You can negotiate your terms, if you keep us free from germs.”
Doctor Feelgood?
Indeed. A better work-life balance awaits just off the A38 at the antiques capital of Cornwall, with the Eden Project, Bodmin Moor, and multiple beautiful beaches on the doorstep.
Doctor, I’m hooked
But I haven’t even told you about the practice or the patients yet. Lostwithiel surgery was voted the top medical practice in Cornwall and 24th in the country in 2022 in the NHS GP Patient Survey. According to the song, the new GP can expect to see “folks with asthma, young new mothers, limping fathers, snot filled others, and children who are so infectious.”
Any takers?
Not yet alas. But GPs are in short supply almost everywhere. A recent survey by the trade magazine Pulse found that 17% of GP posts in England were unfilled.2 Fewer than half (44%) of partners who responded said they had no vacancies, while just under a third (31%) had one vacancy and 16% had two. A similar vacancy rate has been reported in Scotland.3 But don’t worry, the government has promised to recruit 6000 more GPs by 2024.4
Phew . . .
But I told you this was a government target. Since the pledge in December 2018 the number of full time equivalent GPs in England has fallen by 573 (from 28 129 to 27 556 in September 2022), shows the Nuffield Trust’s tracker.5 Don’t book a holiday just yet.