BUREAUCRACY and box ticking have increased over the past year said 97 per cent of English GPs in a recent BMA survey.
An increased workload was reported by 94 per cent and 86 per cent indicated a reduction in morale.
The findings are contained in the largest survey of GP opinion since changes to the GP contract took effect in April 2013. In total, 3,629 GPs completed the survey, just over 10 per cent of all GPs in England.
Among other finding, 82 per cent of GPs felt that some of the new targets were actually reducing the number of appointments available to the majority of patients while 89 pre cent believe that more targets will not improve patient care. Around 90 per cent of GPs said their practice’s resources are likely to fall in the next year and 45 per cent GPs claimed to be less engaged with the new clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) because of increased workload.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, Chair of the BMA’s GP committee said: "The results of this survey demonstrate that an increase in bureaucracy, box ticking and administration has damaged GP services and patient care, mirroring a government funded report into GP’s working lives that made similar findings.
"The BMA wants to work with the government to deliver real benefits to patients and remove the administrative burden that is putting pressure on already overstretched GP services. We particularly need to see how we can free up more time to deliver the personalised care that patients deserve and meet the challenges from an increasing number of older patients who need coordinated and effective care."
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