Rural GP shortages highlighted in patient experience report

Correcting the shortage of GPs in rural areas of the UK is highlighted as a key priority in a new report

Feeling the pressure: what the 2023 Commonwealth Fund survey reveals about the state of the UK health system compares people’s experience of GP and other healthcare services in 10 European countries.

This reports that in the light of ageing populations with more chronic illness and rising health system costs, there needs to be better coordination, more efficient use of staff skills and a greater focus on prevention.

Looking at UK GP services, the Health Foundation report finds that the UK still ranks highly in the proportion of people who report having a regular GP practice (97 per cent), which is considered a fundamental building block of primary care.

The UK also performs well in the proportion of people reporting that they can get an appointment on the same or next day (42 per cent). However, the UK stands out for difficulties getting a same-day answer for a medical problem. For the first time since 2012, more patients said it was difficult to get through to their practice on the phone than said it was easy (and over 80 per cent of patients still use the phone to book appointments).

The survey findings suggest that the UK tended to score poorly compared with other countries on the time a GP spends with them, explaining things in ways that are easy to understand and involving them in decisions about care and treatment.

Rurality