To: Members of the British Public
I support my General Practice
GP teams have worked as hard as they possibly can throughout the pandemic, adapting their surgeries to keep everyone safe, delivering the majority of the Covid vaccination programme, yet have faced daily abuse and constant criticism in the general media.
I’m signing this petition because I believe General Practice is worth fighting for and would like to show my support for all the doctors, nurses, pharmacists, administration staff, practice managers and more who have continued to work throughout this pandemic to provide care and deliver the covid vaccination scheme as safely as possible.
I’m signing this petition because I have received good care from my local GP surgery during the pandemic.
I’m signing this petition because I want to show this government that there is still public support and belief in the trust and relationship we have with our GPs.
Sincerely,
The patients of Wandsworth Borough of London
Why is this important?
General practice, like the rest of the NHS, has been deeply wounded by chronic underfunding.
Did you know 90% of all of the contacts in the NHS happen in general practice for less than 10% of the funding?
There is now only one fully qualified GP per 2,000 people in England, lower than in many other countries. The number of patients per practice is higher than it was in 2015, but the GP workforce has not grown, in fact we are now around 7,500 GPs short. We are also struggling to recruit GPs, nurses, receptionists and admin staff.
Despite this deficit, General Practice has provided one million more practice appointments in July 2021 compared to July 2019. GPs in England manage a wide array of acute and chronic health conditions through over 300 million patient consultations each year on top of managing over 1 billion prescriptions a year, countless hours of administration, referral letters, home visits and caring for nursing homes.
On top of this we have run the nation's largest vaccination campaign, delivering two thirds of phase 1 covid-19 vaccinations and encouraged one of the highest rates of vaccination in diverse communities through trust and education.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, soaring demand, a shrinking GP workforce and a workload that has often become unmanageable, GPs have one of the highest public satisfaction ratings of any public service in the UK.
So to combat the sustained negativity in the media we want to show that there is still support for General Practice and all the work they do to care for their patients and the community. Let's show everyone that we stand with them!
