An experienced GP has detailed the alternatives available to those who are unable to book a GP appointment, as surgeries struggle to cope with burgeoning patient demand.
Dr Irfan Malik, senior partner at Elmswood Surgery in Sherwood, Nottinghamshire, says the situation is being made worse because practices are struggling to recruit medical staff, resulting in doctors being overwhelmed by the number of patients on their lists. The busiest GP surgery in the country is Parliament Street Medical Centre in London city centre. It has 0.58 full-time equivalent doctors - not including locums - for 7,782 patients, creating a ratio of more than 13,000 patients per GP.
"Pressures are being experienced by doctors and nurses across the country and a number of practices nationally are struggling to recruit. Some surgeries are understaffed to cope with demand," Dr Malik told Nottinghamshire Live.
