Private GP stepping up services to take pressure off NHS
More services are being made available by a Midlands private GP service to meet demand as the NHS comes under increasing pressure.
It follows a spike in appointments at GP practices across the county in March, which saw over 37,000 more patients wanting to see a doctor than during the previous month.
The increase has sparked a warning that GPs could buckle under the pressure of unsustainable workloads.
The trend in Shropshire mirrors the national picture, with NHS digital data revealing 28.4 million appointments were made with a GP in March - the highest monthly figure since October 2019.
The team at Summerfield Healthcare, which has GP and minor surgery clinics in Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton, has been working hard to help take the pressure off the NHS, as GP practices juggle resources to administer the Covid vaccine rollout alongside normal patient care.
The provider is now stepping up its commitment by increasing the services it offers in a bid to help the NHS.
Dr Vivake Roddah, medical director at Summerfield Healthcare, said: “GP surgeries are in an impossible situation at the moment in trying to keep on top of an ever-increasing workload.
Appointments
"Practices are returning to face-to-face appointments after more than a year of Covid and the spike in the number of patients wanting to see a doctor is a great concern.
“On top of the day-to-day challenge of trying to ensure patients receive the care they need, GPs are also heavily involved in the ongoing rollout of the vaccine, which is in itself a mammoth task.
“Summerfield Healthcare has a team of fully qualified GPs and provides prompt appointments for patients - a service which we are extending in view of the current situation.
"It’s a move aimed at providing patients with quality care and reassurance while also helping our NHS colleagues by taking the pressure off them.”
NHS digital data shows 256,006 appointments were made with surgeries across the county during March - 167,143 in Shropshire and 88,863 in Telford & Wrekin. That was 37,300 more across both areas than in February and 45,401 more than February 2020.
