BMA study highlights concerns over deteriorating GP care quality

The British Medical Association (BMA) has highlighted results from a new survey showing widespread concerns among GPs that the quality of care they provide is declining.

Polling almost 2,900 GP practices in England, the survey indicated that 55 percent reported a drop in the quality of service in their practice in the past 12 months, a trend attributed to an excessive workload.

Indeed, only two percent of those polled described their workload as low or generally manageable, whereas 55 percent said it was unmanageable a lot of the time and 13 percent described it as unmanageable all of the time.

Moreover, with 95 percent of practices saying there had been a rise in demand for appointments in the past twelve months, it is likely that this issue will only become more pronounced.

As such, the BMA will be taking steps to provide extra support, including sending every GP practice in England a package of materials, such as guidance on how to manage workloads safely.

Dr Beth McCarron, GP executive team member at the BMA, said: "These figures clearly show that general practice is in a state of emergency, with the majority of GP practices across England registering a deterioration in the quality of care being delivered to patients."