Scholars warn that the lack of general practitioners in poor communities may “widen health inequality.”
New research finds that in poor areas, there are fewer general practitioners per patient UK Compared with affluent areas.
Studies have found that in poorer communities, the lack of family doctors can usually be made up for through nursing roles.
The study, published in the British Journal of General Medicine, surveyed the number of general practitioners in each region for every 10,000 patients in the community.
Not only are people living in poor areas of England more likely to have long-term health problems, but they may also find it more difficult to see a general practitioner
Researchers at the University of Cambridge found that between September 2015 and December last year, compared with the poorest areas, the number of full-time equivalent general practitioners per 10,000 patients in the poorest areas decreased by an average of 1.4.
They say that the lower number of general practitioners in poor areas is compensated by more nurses to some extent.
However, people living in poverty-stricken areas have fewer staff facing patients.
The senior author of the study, Dr. John Ford from the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge, said: “people People living in poor areas of England are not only more likely to have long-term health problems, but they may also find their general practitioners more unsightly and receive worse care when they see a general practitioner.
“This is just one aspect of how some people accumulate disadvantages leading to poor health and premature death.
“Due to the increase in the number of other health professionals, there may be some compensation, which may to some extent alleviate the shortage of general practitioners in social and economically disadvantaged areas. But this is not a substitute of the same kind, and it is unlikely to be sufficient. .”
Claire Nussbaum, lead author of the study, added: ” government The reduction of health inequality has been a core commitment, but with the increasing shortage of general practitioners in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, this will be challenging.
“The inequalities we have observed in primary health care personnel are particularly worrying because they show that access to health care is increasingly limited in places where health needs are greatest.
“In the context of Covid-19, addressing barriers to healthcare has become more urgent. It has widened pre-existing health and social inequalities.”
Comment on the study, Professor Martin Marshall, Chair Royal College of General Practitioners Said: “All patients should receive the best general practitioner care possible, no matter what their condition or where they live, but ten years of underinvestment in general practitioners means that we simply don’t have enough general practitioners to meet the constant needs. Increasing demand and an aging population.
“People living in poverty-stricken areas often have more long-term health conditions and more complex health needs, so they often need more care and services from general practitioners.
“Urgent funds are needed to attract general practitioners to areas with insufficient doctors, recruit more general practitioners for the entire industry, and prevent the general practitioners we have from exhausting.
“The college has been calling on the government to urgently fulfill its manifesto promise to increase 6,000 general practitioners by 2024.
“General practitioners are preparing for the unusually busy autumn and winter. In addition to managing the impact and backlog of the pandemic, they are also providing an expanded influenza vaccination plan and a Covid booster campaign.
“It is more important than ever that general practitioners have the labor capacity to manage new and existing pressures so that general practitioners can continue to provide high-quality care to patients, no matter where they are.”
Dr. Richard Vautrey, Chairman of the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association, said: “This study not only emphasizes the severity of the labor crisis faced by primary care, but also highlights the terrible consequences that it has had on poor communities across the country—everyone is protected by the real People make up and cannot get the timely care they need.
“The government can no longer ignore this; especially in the context of Covid-19, it has created an unprecedented National Health Service Backlog of care.
“If there is no safe staffing level to overcome it, it will further damage the well-being of employees and patients for a long time.
“It is clear that previous attempts to increase staffing were not enough and failed to bridge the gap. The government must start to take this crisis and its impact seriously.
“These health inequalities are completely avoidable, but if we are to build a fairer society and bring better health outcomes for all, we must treat the issues surrounding them as an absolute priority. In England, We simply don’t have enough doctors.”
