A briefing on the state of the NHS

 

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You may be struggling to find a convenient and timely appointment with your practice, or your hospital appointment or planned operation may be considerably delayed, even if it would seem very urgent to you. This is because the NHS is in the deepest crisis I have experienced in working within the NHS in 40 years. Even before the problems of Covid-19 the situation was poor. Now the NHS has not recovered.

Unfortunately, successive governments, of all persuasions, have not had the courage to reform the NHS, for fear of a media and population backlash. As time has passed the necessary reforms become more difficult to implement. As a result, the service is slowly deteriorating despite gargantuan efforts of the people working within it to prop up a deficient system.

This has led to huge gaps in the NHS workforce which cannot be plugged, and the service is slowly dying whilst the politicians watch and prevaricate. It is not a matter of money; it is more about the pressure at work and the ability to maintain a balance and family life.

The shortages are most apparent in General Practice. The government and NHS England are not recognising the critical nature of the situation and continue to heap pressure on practices. The profession has made representations over many years but have been ignored. The erosion of our workforce; GPs, Nurses, Receptionists and Administrative staff continues and is unsustainable even in the short-term.

What this means for Purbeck patients is a slimmed down service that can only manage very urgent cases, and longer delays in being seen. In the longer term, if nothing changes, it means no GP service in parts of Purbeck and patients having to travel to other practices who will then be even more overloaded.

We need your help in changing the situation. If you wish to have a General Practice in your town or village next year, then we need to exert pressure on politicians and the senior civil servants in the NHS to change their demands on beleaguered practices and support us. You need to value what you have and make it clear to politicians and the media, who take any opportunity to undermine General Practice, that you will not forgive them if they allow the NHS to wither and die. Tell them you want positive action to save your surgery. Encourage them to listen to what doctors and nurses are telling them and tell them you want the NHS to continue. We are publishing below contact details for local MPs and papers but there are national papers and social media that you can engage with too. Write to the Prime Minister and Health Secretary if you feel so inclined.

There are other things you can do to make a difference. Everyone in General Practice is working extremely hard to provide as safe a service as can be delivered. They are exhausted and demoralised, and it is unhelpful when patients complain about not being able to get access to a GP or a Nurse. They are on the edge and a rude or aggressive act pushes people over that edge, and they leave, increasing pressure on the remaining team. So please be considerate with receptionists and all the staff in your practices. In my experience everyone is doing their best in very difficult circumstances, so, if you hear a fellow patient being less than polite, please point that out to them.

If your hospital appointment or surgery is delayed contact the hospital not your GP, please. And lastly please consider carefully if you need to have contact with the practice or can you get what you need from a pharmacy or a website. Please look at your practice website, there is a wealth of useful information there.

We need to work together to save your practice and change the attitude of the politicians to put the NHS and General Practice on a sounder footing.

Thank-you for your time.

David Haines
Purbeck Primary Care Network Clinical Director

 

Your local MPs

Conservative MP for Mid Dorset & North Poole sine 2015

  • Dorset Office 01202 624216
  • michael.tomlinson.mp@parliament.uk

Conservative MP for South Dorset since 2010

  • Chesil House, Dorset Green Technology Park, Winfrith Newburgh Dorchester, DT2 8ZB
  • 01929 462803

London office

  • House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
  • 020 7219 5844

 

Your local newspapers

Swanage and Wareham Voice

The Purbeck Gazette

  • 3 Alfred’s Way, Wincanton, BA9 9RU
  • ed@purbeckgazette.co.uk

Swanage News

Published: May 12, 2023