A leading Newcastle GP says primary care has suffered from a huge lack of investment - and said there had been too much political attention on hospitals rather than on community care at a time when it "had never been harder" for general practice staff.
At a "Newcastle Debate" hosted by Newcastle University and on the topic of "the future of the NHS", Cruddas Park GP Dr Guy Pilkington - who also leads the North East and North Cumbria's "prevention board" looking to improve public health before problems develop - spoke of a need to ensure primary care gets the investment that is both deserved and needed to meet rising demand.
Long-serving GP Dr Pilkington told the event he felt the rapid growth in the size of secondary hospital care over his thirty-plus-year career had been striking, but that it had not been mirrored in the community.
