How is your Monday going? If you’re a GP, I already know the answer, it’s busy, because 28% of the week’s demand arrives on Monday, and 3/4 of that in the morning. It’s not news.
News last week was that GP numbers have fallen by 1,300 over the last two years. A bit of a problem when at the half way point to Jeremy Hunt’s election pledge of 5,000 more GPs, we’d have expected growth of 2,500.
We need happier GPs.
The Dutch have happier GPs. Listen to Jako Burgers tell the RCGP conference why (20 minutes or so). Students compete for their GP training places, they recognise it as a top choice.
There are differences in funding and so on, but a lot about the system is similar to ours and they are paid about the same. Practices are smaller, there’s no obsession with scale, and they love the independence.
Let me float this idea for the UK: GP opening hours are too long. For many years now more women have been joining GP, but 8am is too early to be family friendly, and a 6.30 finish is too late. While we’re there, why shouldn’t fathers be at breakfast with their school age kids? Of course they should.
6.30 finish? “You’d be lucky” I hear partners say. Yes, many GPs are working very long days, I’ve heard 12 – 14 hours. Then taking days off. Working with hundreds of practices we almost never come across a full time GP.
I’m not proposing to cut GP working hours, though we should cut pointless overwork. But to spread them out evenly. Operationally it’s much better to work a regular five days, reasonable, family friendly hours, offering better continuity to patients.
I’m not proposing to cut access to GPs, but improve it (clue’s in the name). The difference in pushing back opening from 8 to 9 is an hour – compare with the three week wait forced on many patients. (by the way, the Austrian health department is trying to get GPs to open in the afternoon). Extending hours to 8pm and opening weekends for routines is catastrophic – sucking GP capacity into low demand periods, destroying continuity and burning money.
Understanding demand and flow means help for patients within the hour is not just normal, it’s easy. Minor problems we have with the Transform programme are firstly, we know that GPs starting work at the same time as reception is crucial for daily flow, and 8 is too early for many. Secondly, part time working causes uneven capacity through the week.
While our policy makers focus on inputs, number of GPs, number of hours, we need to look the other way. How do we make GP more professionally rewarding and practically possible?
Jako Burgers: “Happy GPs will do a better job than unhappy GPs.”
We need happier GPs
How is your Monday going? If you’re a GP, I already know the answer, it’s busy, because 28% of the week’s demand arrives on Monday, and 3/4 of that in the morning. It’s not news.
News last week was that GP numbers have fallen by 1,300 over the last two years. A bit of a problem when at the half way point to Jeremy Hunt’s election pledge of 5,000 more GPs, we’d have expected growth of 2,500.
We need happier GPs.
The Dutch have happier GPs. Listen to Jako Burgers tell the RCGP conference why (20 minutes or so). Students compete for their GP training places, they recognise it as a top choice.
There are differences in funding and so on, but a lot about the system is similar to ours and they are paid about the same. Practices are smaller, there’s no obsession with scale, and they love the independence.
Let me float this idea for the UK: GP opening hours are too long. For many years now more women have been joining GP, but 8am is too early to be family friendly, and a 6.30 finish is too late. While we’re there, why shouldn’t fathers be at breakfast with their school age kids? Of course they should.
6.30 finish? “You’d be lucky” I hear partners say. Yes, many GPs are working very long days, I’ve heard 12 – 14 hours. Then taking days off. Working with hundreds of practices we almost never come across a full time GP.
I’m not proposing to cut GP working hours, though we should cut pointless overwork. But to spread them out evenly. Operationally it’s much better to work a regular five days, reasonable, family friendly hours, offering better continuity to patients.
I’m not proposing to cut access to GPs, but improve it (clue’s in the name). The difference in pushing back opening from 8 to 9 is an hour – compare with the three week wait forced on many patients. (by the way, the Austrian health department is trying to get GPs to open in the afternoon). Extending hours to 8pm and opening weekends for routines is catastrophic – sucking GP capacity into low demand periods, destroying continuity and burning money.
Understanding demand and flow means help for patients within the hour is not just normal, it’s easy. Minor problems we have with the Transform programme are firstly, we know that GPs starting work at the same time as reception is crucial for daily flow, and 8 is too early for many. Secondly, part time working causes uneven capacity through the week.
While our policy makers focus on inputs, number of GPs, number of hours, we need to look the other way. How do we make GP more professionally rewarding and practically possible?
Jako Burgers: “Happy GPs will do a better job than unhappy GPs.”
It’s not rocket science is it?
Harry Longman
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