GPs outnumbered by admin staff in 90pc of UK surgeries as new study reveals NHS crisis

A bombshell study has revealed GPs are outnumbered by their administrative staff in over 90 percent of UK surgeries, as longer wait times for appointments intensify.

According to the data, extracted from NHS figures, general practice is short of around 7,000 family doctors to provide adequate care across the country.

Critics have told MailOnline, which obtained the data, that surgeries "have gone overboard on hiring idle workers", saying "pen pushers are sitting pretty while phone calls remain unanswered".

This has only exacerbated the appointment time crisis, as one in 20 patients usually have to wait at least four weeks to see a GP, according to the NHS.

Most of the staff in surgeries are admin, with places such as Matrix Medical Practice in Chatham, Kent, which has 22.5 full-time-equivalent (FTE) admin staff and only one GP. Similarly, places like Kirby Road Surgery in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, and JS Medical Practice in Tottenham London had respectively 14.7 and 14 FTE admin staff per GP.

Admin staff mainly refers to receptionists, but also encompasses estate workers and managers.

Dennis Reed of Silver Voices, a campaign group for senior Britons that has advocated for better access to GPs, told the Mail: "You can't really justify one full-time-equivalent GP to 22 backroom admin staff.

“[It] definitely needs to be investigated as to why there is this absolutely huge gap between different practices and the number of back-up staff compared to doctors.”

Reed also claimed that practices are opting for remote treatments over the phone rather than in-person consultations, with admin staff referring patients to online recommendations.

Despite more appointments being delivered compared to pre-pandemic, less are actually being held in person. NHS data for April shows only 64.5 percent of GP practice appointments were held face-to-face - a sharp fall compared to about 80 percent pre-COVID.

An NHS spokesperson said: "The NHS remains one of the most efficient health services in the world when it comes to admin, with administrative costs of less than 2p in every pound of NHS funding, compared to 5p in Germany and 6p in France– providing taxpayers with excellent value for money.

"GP practices are now delivering record numbers of appointments for patients, and in April they delivered six million more appointments than before the pandemic.

"Admin staff play an essential part in delivering this and maintaining day-to-day operations."

In light of these findings, doctors’ unions have also come to the defence of receptionists, insisting they are highly skilled "care navigators" essential to directing patients to the right service, thus cutting down on the workload of GPs and saving them time

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, told the Mail: "We absolutely understand patients' frustration when they are struggling to see or speak to their GP. General practice is under enormous pressure, and we know patients’ experiences are being affected.

"The reality is that we simply don’t have enough GPs for the number of patients who need our care. The average number of patients per fully qualified GP is now 2,294, meaning each GP is, on average, responsible for 154 more patients than there were five years ago.

"Practices are coming up with solutions to triage as best they can and improve patient access, but ultimately, if we are going to be able to provide patients with the timely appointments they deserve, we need more GPs."