Recommendation 1

The first step to solving a problem is to acknowledge it and we believe that general practice is in crisis. It is clear from the latest GP Patient survey results that despite the best efforts of GPs, the elastic has snapped after many years of pressure. Patients are facing unacceptably poor access to, and experiences of, general practice and patient safety is at risk from unsustainable pressures. Patient access is at the heart of NHS general practice and we are very concerned about this decline in standards. Given their reluctance to acknowledge the crisis in general practice we are not convinced that the Government or NHS England are prepared to address the problems in the service with sufficient urgency. The Government’s Plan for Patients places a welcome emphasis on improving access to general practice but the measures set out so far will not be sufficient to make a meaningful difference to patient access and do not deal sufficiently with how to improve outcomes.