One in four people could be left without a GP within a decade as “unrealistic demands” fuel an exodus of staff, campaigners say.
The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) wrote to Health Secretary Therese Coffey demanding urgent action.
It warned that a failure to address the concerns of family doctors would cause more to “cut their hours, quit the NHS, or quit the country”.
Without Government intervention and investment, the group said many patients could soon face the same postcode lottery for access to GP services that exists for NHS dentistry.
The letter said: “We are writing to you as a group of GPs, deeply concerned over the future of the profession.
“Without urgent government action, our primary care system will suffer irreversible loss as the risk of harm to both patients and doctors increases.”
The letter, signed by eight DAUK members, highlighted the death of Dr Gail Milligan, a GP and mother of two who took her own life in July.
Her husband claimed the “unbearable pressure of her job finally got to her” and she became deeply depressed.
The campaigners told Ms Coffey that “this job is making us ill”.
They added: “Dr Milligan was a beloved and respected GP partner who had been working tirelessly for her patients at Camberley Health Centre for 18 years.
“In addition to this role, she trained new GPs and was involved in her local clinical commissioning group.
“Her husband Chris posted online about the excessive workload she experienced; often working 16-hour days even on weekends. Once the pressures of work became unsustainable, she took her own life.
“Most GPs won’t take their own lives, but her death has again drawn the profession’s attention to the unrelenting stress we all endure.”
The letter warned GPs were stuck in a “downward spiral”, unable to meet the demands placed on the service.
It pointed to worrying analysis by the Health Foundation think tank which suggested the NHS could have a shortfall of up to 8,800 full-time equivalent GPs by 2030/31.
The DAUK estimated that with the average GP caring for around 2,000 patients, this could leave up to 16 million without a family doctor within a decade.
The letter called for continuity of care to be prioritised and placed at the heart of new Government policies so patients can build relationships with GPs who oversee their care.
It urged the Health Secretary to extend sickness self-certification to 28 days so fewer people need appointments to certify work absences.
And it called for pharmacists to be given greater powers to substitute drugs, and for more training and development for support staff in primary care.
Other suggestions included an overhaul of the way practices are funded, greater freedom over how they spend extra cash at times of crisis and investment in more reliable IT systems.
The medics also suggested Ms Coffey should spend time in a GP surgery so she can look “under the bonnet” of the service.
The letter added: “Without your urgent action to stabilise primary care, the NHS will become a sinking ship. GPs will cut their hours, quit the NHS or quit the country. This is happening already.”
Medical leaders have been raising the alarm for years that falling GP numbers and rising demand for appointments is creating unsustainable pressure.
Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer from the Rebuild General Practice campaign said:
“Due to decades of neglect and underfunding, there aren’t enough GPs to give patients the treatment and care they deserve.
“This crisis is a national emergency, and we are pleading with the Government to urgently address it.”
