Only 4% of people still see their family doctor
The tradition of a family doctor may be a thing of the past, as only 4% of Brits claim they see their own doctor every time they have an appointment at the doctor’s surgery they are registered at.
A new poll has discovered that many Britons are finding it difficult to get an appointment with their own doctor each time they visit their GP practice, due to long waiting times.
The average time for an appointment with their own doctor, according to the research was 4 weeks.
According to the poll, only 4% of Britons are able to see their own/family doctor every time they attend their doctor’s surgery, and 72% of people no longer bother to ask for an appointment specifically with their own doctor. The majority of these, 88%, claimed that this was simply so that they could ‘get a sooner appointment’, whilst only 3% said that it was because they ‘didn’t mind which doctor’ they saw.
Peter Savage, Partner at Medical Accident Group who conducted the research, said the following: “It’s a real shame that Britons struggle as much as they do to get an appointment with their own family doctor, particularly for those who have had the same doctor for their entire life. The relationship between a patient and their doctor is an important one and is all about trust. Regular visits and contact allows patients to feel more at ease during appointments and makes them much more likely to go to their doctor when they’re worried about something, or have something wrong that they may deem embarrassing.
“Whilst we understand that doctors and locums are incredibly busy and that their patient lists continue to get longer and longer, we didn’t realise just how hard it had become for Britons to get an appointment with a family doctor. This can lead to potential medical negligence claims, as having a different doctor each time doesn’t allow for a deeper understanding of medical issues. Whilst doctors’ notes are comprehensive, it can be easy to miss something out which could be critical in the process of making someone better, or even saving their life.”