GP leader calls out MP for ‘morale-damaging’ face-to-face campaign

A senior GP has written to Conservative MP Jill Mortimer to complain about her ‘morale-damaging’ campaign for more face-to-face GP appointments.

Dr George Rae, the chair of the BMA North East regional council, told the MP that her campaign is out of touch with the reality faced by local GPs, the BMA said.

The campaign, which calls for more funding to boost face-to-face GP appointments, fails to acknowledge the ‘huge pressures’ GPs are under and risks putting them under further pressure by setting ‘unrealistic expectations’ for patients of what GPs can deliver, Ms Mortimer has been told.

Dr Rae’s letter said: ‘We have noted your campaign across Hartlepool to increase patient access to GP services – a laudable aim which we would of course support. However, I am afraid to say that this campaign is further damaging the morale of local GPs as it so far fails to acknowledge the huge pressures facing general practice across the region and indeed the country.

‘GPs are looking to local MPs during these challenging times for their support and for recognition of the underlying issues that are impacting patient care.’

Highlighting that there are now almost 2,000 fewer full-time GPs since 2015, instead of the thousands of extra GPs pledged by the Conservative Party, the BMA is calling on MPs to discuss instead how services can be improved – including the need for investment in general practice alongside a workforce strategy.

GP practices in England delivered a record 36 million appointments in October. This was the highest number since NHS Digital began publishing the number of appointments including Covid jabs in December 2020.