Reimagining the NHS must focus on restoring general practice
It is widely acknowledged that a well trained and robust general practice workforce is the base of any cost effective healthcare system. Several reports have shown that having well functioning general practice reduces admissions to secondary care, reduces attendances at emergency departments, and improves the outcomes of long term diseases.123 Research has shown that every £1 spent on funding general practice, saves £3 of hospital costs.3 So why isn’t general practice in the UK funded, resourced, and appreciated as the “jewel of the NHS,” as Martin Marshall, GP and previous chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, described it?4 GPs see 90% of patient contacts in England, with the other 10% going to the emergency department.35 Often they are the first doctors to hear a patient’s story, the first doctor to examine them, the first to decide what investigations are needed (if any), and the first to refer patients for tests. They are the first doctor to assess test results and