“It’s busy. Normally, we get a quieter period in June and July, but it’s just been relentless,” says one Greater Manchester GP. Dr Faisal Bhutta has been ‘working all of the time’ for months now, as patients come forward with problems they have kept to themselves during the pandemic, he says.
And instead of demand returning to some sense of normalcy, NHS GPs are now facing a new contract that would see them offer yet more appointments in the evenings and on weekends to meet the sheer volume of people needing help.
This week, medics across the country have come out in force to protest the new contract, threatening industrial action. But Tameside GP Dr Bhutta says that there is actually another important reason why GPs could strike - pay.
