High demand for GP visits in Gloucestershire 'not sustainable'

The record levels of GP appointments being booked in Gloucestershire are not sustainable in the long term, NHS executives have warned.

There were more than 406,000 visits by patients to their doctor in the county in October, the highest on record.

Gloucestershire County Council is looking into why the level is so high.

Mary Hutton, NHS Gloucestershire chief executive officer, said there was not enough capacity at GP practices to meet demand.

After October's high, bookings for GP appointments remained high in November with 399,492 slots booked.

December's figure is expected to be 20% higher than the same month in 2021 when the final total comes in, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

It is thought the increase is being driven by the rise in flu this winter, the cold weather and the cost of living crisis.

People delaying seeking treatment over the last few years due to the pandemic is also a factor.

Speaking to the council's health overview and scrutiny committee, Ms Hutton said: "We can't continue with that level of demand as the capacity won't meet that level of demand."

She added: "GPs will step up to the plate and we had some extra capacity put into Cheltenham over Christmas but it's not something that can be sustained."

Mark Pietroni, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust director for safety and medical director, said health services are struggling to catch up with a "demand and capacity mismatch".

"Patients who are waiting two years for things like angiograms and operations - inevitably some of those patients tip over the edge and present to healthcare with more pain or with angina, etc," he said.

"And something that is really important we don't neglect is the mental health impact of the lockdowns."

Mr Pietroni added: "All of that is driving health seeking behaviour in our population in the context of a health and care system which is incredibly stretched at the moment."

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