GP appointments crisis sparks 80% surge in patients attending A&E with sore throats and other minor ailments
- The number of people attending A&E requesting medication also rose by a fifth
- Sore throat cases increased from 191,900 in 2021/22 to 340,441 in 2022/23
Difficulties getting a GP appointment has sparked an up to 80 per cent surge in Brits turning to A&E for help with sore throats, coughs and earache, NHS data shows.
Figures reveal 340,441 attendances to emergency units in England last year were because of a sore throat — 77 per cent more than the 190,900 logged in 2021/22.
Meanwhile, the number of sick Brits seeking urgent care for coughs and earaches spiked by 50 per cent and a fifth, respectively.
Health service bosses today said that the ‘persistent strain on primary care services including GPs’ — with patients routinely facing waits of more than a week to be seen — is forcing many to attend emergency units.
Minor ailments must instead be managed through appropriate services, such as pharmacies and NHS 111 online, they urged.
Latest NHS A&E data showed that patient care plummeted in August as emergency departments faced their busiest summer yet. Just under three-quarters of emergency department attendees (73 per cent) were seen within four hours in August, down from 74 per cent in July. NHS standards set out 95 per cent should be admitted, transferred or discharged within the four-hour window
Fresh analysis of NHS data shows cases where sore throat was the chief complaint rose 77 per cent between 2021/22 and 2022/23, from 191,900 cases to 340,441. Health service bosses today said that the ‘persistent strain on primary care services including GPs’ — with patients routinely being told they face a wait of more than a week to be seen — is leaving many patients resorting to attending emergency units
According to the analysis of NHS data by the PA news agency, patients going to A&E with coughs rose 47 per cent from 219,388 in 2021/22 to 322,500 in 2022/23.
Attendances for earaches rose 22 per cent from 191,387 to 233,723, while nosebleeds cases jumped by a fifth from 47,285 cases to 56,546.
In most cases, these ailments can be manged at home or with help from a pharmacist, the NHS says.
Emergency medics treated 324,443 patients with backache last year, up two per cent from 317,149.
People also went to A&E requesting medication, with cases rising by a fifth from 31,960 to 38,435.
Miriam Deakin, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, said: ‘The rise in A&E admissions is piling even more pressure on to an already-stretched NHS.
‘Persistent strain on primary care services, including GPs and dentists, means patients often resort to A&E when they cannot access timely care elsewhere.
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‘Minor ailments such as coughs, earache, fever, nausea and hiccups can and should be managed through more appropriate services, such as pharmacies and NHS 111 online.
‘This could ease pressure on emergency departments, whose priority is to deliver urgent care for those most in need.
‘Boosting capacity of staff, beds and equipment in these settings would also significantly help.
‘However, this requires proper funding and support from the Government.’
Latest NHS data shows there were 27.8million GP appointments in July but three in 10 patients had to wait more than a week for their consultation.
Less than half were on the same day (43.6 per cent), while around one in 20 had to wait more than a month.
Over two-thirds (68.3 per cent) were in-person. Most other appointments were conducted over the phone (26.5 per cent).
However, NHS data also shows that GPs are under pressure and treating a record number of people.
Family doctors are responsible for up 2,600 patients each in some areas, up from an average 1,900 in 2016.
Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), said: ‘While there has certainly been an increase in issues which may not have traditionally been thought of as requiring emergency care, it is not the main problem, and is symptomatic of a much wider issue.
‘Our communities need good access to healthcare. This requires an adequately resourced and staffed system with sufficient capacity at every level.
‘Community-based services are massively stretched, A&Es remain dangerously overcrowded, and in-patient care does not currently have anywhere near the bed capacity needed.
‘Many of my patients have tried not to come to A&E and have tried other all other routes before attending.
‘People do not, and should not be expected, to know the severity of their condition without clinical expertise or examination. And those who feel they require urgent and emergency care should attend A&E.
‘One change which certainly would have an impact is greater clinical input into the NHS 111 service to help direct patients to the right care for them — be that in the community or, when necessary, at hospital.
‘Concern over pressures on A&Es should not fall on the public. An adequately staffed and funded health service with enough capacity can meet patient demand.’
GP workforce data for May 2023 shows there are 27,200 fully-qualified GPs in England. This is down from 27,627 one year earlier. GP numbers peaked at 29,537 in March 2016
Around 7.68million patients in England — or one in seven people — were in the queue in July for procedures such hip and knee replacements, official figures show. This includes almost 390,000 patients who have waited at least one year for treatment, often in pain. The monthly performance data showed the waiting list grew by more than 100,000 between June and July
The RCEM has previously warned difficulties in seeing a GP were leading to a crisis in emergency departments.
A report in October 2021 by the college also highlighted that the lack of GPs, which is leading to difficulties with access, is one of a number of factors contributing to increased demand.
‘Small deteriorations in the number of people accessing appropriate GP consultations have the potential to put great pressure on the urgent and emergency care system,’ it warned.
According to the PA analysis, some 44 per cent more complaints in A&E were for fever compared to the previous year, rising from 566,531 to 813,609.
Hiccups cases also rose 3 per cent from 794 to 819, while insomnia cases increased 6 per cent from 1,265 to 1,343.
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Nasal congestion and nausea cases were among other rises, of 30 per cent 14 per cent, respectively.
Meanwhile, diarrhoea cases jumped 12 per cent from 106,072 to 119,019.
Overall, some 8.6 million attendances resulted in the patient being discharged with written advice.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, said: ‘When people are ill, they want timely care and attention and we cannot expect them to make clinical judgements about how ill they are, nor should we blame them if they access care in a place that might not be best to meet their needs.
‘Unfortunately, the entire NHS is heaving under unsustainable pressures and patients are increasingly looking for any port in the storm.
‘While some of the presentations to A&E may not be indicative of a medical “emergency”, conditions such as fevers – which saw a 44 per cent increase in admissions over the last year – can be symptomatic of something more serious that needs the skill and expertise of a medical professional to diagnose and treat.
‘As the front door of the NHS, GPs play a vital role in alleviating pressures from other services, but we are in the grip of a workload and workforce crisis and in desperate need of financial and staffing support if we are to continue keeping the NHS upright.
‘We share our patients’ frustrations when they face long waits for a GP appointment but last month alone, general practice delivered five million extra appointments for patients than in August 2019 – equating to 150,000 extra appointments per day – all with 883 fewer GPs than in 2019.
‘GP teams are working their hardest to deliver safe, timely and appropriate care – there simply are not enough of us to meet demand that is growing in both volume and complexity.’
Latest monthly performance data also shows the NHS waiting list grew by more than 100,000 between June and July.
The 7.68million toll marks the highest figures logged since NHS records began in August 2007 and a rise of nearly three quarters of a million (742,000) on July 2022.
For comparison, around 4.4million were stuck in the system when the pandemic reached the UK.
The expansion of pharmacy services is part of a wider ‘primary care recovery plan’ designed to restore public satisfaction with GP services after the pandemic. Graph shows the ratio of GP patients to practices, which an average of 9,740 patients per surgery in March
Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said long waiting lists mean patients will often be unable to tolerate symptoms ‘necessitating them to access urgent and emergency care’.
He said long lists also reduce people’s faith in being able to access services in a timely manner and so some will use acute care services.
‘This adds to the overwhelming pressure on an extremely overstretched urgent care system and undoubtedly will increase appalling and intolerable experiences for emergency patients this winter,’ he said.
‘Mitigation is possible and it is essential that action is taken that helps restore the confidence of patients and staff over the next few months.’
Separate NHS data for A&E also shows that patient care plummeted in August as emergency departments faced their busiest summer yet.
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GP Patient satisfaction has too, as a result of the GP appointment crisis, plunged to its lowest level on record.
In recent months, patients have continually expressed their frustration over access to GP services, particularly regarding in person face-to-face appointments.
But why Brits are struggling with their surgeries is a complicated issue.
GPs say they overwhelmed due to the pressures of the rising and ageing population, a lack of government funding and a shortage of doctors.
Under recommendations implemented by the BMA and European Union of General Practitioners, GPs today should not deliver more than 25 appointments a day to ensure safe care.
But some doctors are reportedly having to cram in nearly 60 patients a day in some areas.
Ministers have also silently binned a promise to hire 6,000 more GPs, which was a major part of Boris Johnson’s election-winning manifesto.
Just 2,000 more family doctors have been recruited since 2019.
Worsening the staffing crisis is the fact that many current GPs are retiring in their 50s, moving abroad or leaving to work in the private sector because of soaring demand, NHS paperwork, and aggressive media coverage.
GP surgeries have also faced rising levels of harassment, assaults and verbal abuse targeted at staff in recent months.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said it was supporting primary care to prevent unnecessary trips to emergency departments and has already made improvements in A&E waiting times.
A spokesperson said: ‘There are more than 2,000 additional doctors and 31,000 additional staff working in general practice compared to June 2019 and our Long Term Workforce Plan will create a more sustainable NHS.
‘Our Pharmacy First service, backed by up to £645 million, will enable community pharmacies to supply prescription-only medicines for seven common conditions without patients needing to see a GP and the Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Plan is creating 5,000 permanent staffed hospital beds.’
They added: ‘We are also on track to deliver 10,000 virtual ward beds ahead of winter, allowing patients to recover in the comfort of their own homes where appropriate.’
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