THE colossal rise in the number of patients across the country being forced to move surgery is a result of the Government’s failure to address the recruitment, workload and funding crisis in general practice which has pushed practices to the point of closure.

An investigation by medical magazine Pulse reveals that the closure of a large number of GP practices in Brighton (which featured in The Argus on Saturday), among the worst in the country, have meant that thousands of patients have been displaced and left to find care elsewhere.

This is sadly not an unusual occurrence.

A recent survey from the British Medical Association showed that more than 300 GP practices in England were facing closure.

At the same time many more are having to consider closing their practice lists because they cannot safely treat the sheer number of patients coming through their surgery doors.

Unmanageable workloads are also leaving many GPs unable to cope.

We cannot allow a situation where patients are left without access to a family doctor or are constantly moved from one practice to another.

Rather than making empty promises that falls short of what is needed, the Government must urgently invest in general practice.

This is vital because it is patients and communities who are suffering the consequences.

  • Dr Russell Brown is the British Medical Association GP representative for East Sussex. For more details about the British Medical Association’s campaign visit bma.org.uk.