Patients are finding it difficult to see their GP therefore they are heading to A&E departments. This has put immense pressure on the NHS. Data released by NHS England this week showed that there were 1.7 million visits to emergency departments last month, up from 1.3 million in February. 75 percent of people had contacted Healthwatch last year to report negative experiences with managing to reach GP services.
When the A&E performance statistics were released this week, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine warned that without action there could be an “unconscionable” return to the days of patients being cared for in corridors of crowded departments.
Dr Adrian Boyle, vice-president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “We know many of our patients have tried to seek alternative care before arriving at departments, so it is possible that some people may be attending emergency departments following difficulty securing an appointment with their GP. However, that “a well-resourced and well-funded health service should be able to cope with high levels of patient and community demand”.
An NHS spokeswoman said: “General practice carried out 275 million appointments throughout the pandemic, over half of which were face to face, and while there is ongoing demand for remote consultations, the NHS will continue to regularly review the process for accessing appointments.”
