Mental health provision

The survey also found that 640 GPs felt the provision for children with mental health issues in their area was not good enough. Some 508 GPs felt the same about adult provision. Dr Shire spoke to BBC News and LBC about the results. She told the BBC: “It’s not a surprise to anybody that the number of people seeking help for mental health conditions has increased. “There’s been an increase in mental health conditions since Covid.

Anxiety and depression

“Quite a lot of people said the first time they experienced anxiety or depression was during the pandemic. “I think we need to celebrate the fact people feel able to ask for help, rather than criticising them for asking for help. “And then look at why they are asking for help and what help is available for them?” Asked whether neurodivergent conditions such as ADHD were over-diagnosed, Dr Shire said it was more likely that diagnosis was ‘catching up’ with the number of neurodivergent people. She said: “Adults, especially, often can’t access reasonable adjustments in the workplace, or help and support without a diagnosis.

Support people

“There’s no availability for things like CBT and coaching. They are mentioned in the NICE guidelines as a way to support people with ADHD, but they can’t get access to that unless they’ve got this diagnosis. “(Being diagnosed can be) very validating for somebody to understand why they’ve struggled, or why they’re struggling. Is it just me, or is it something else?” Watch Dr Shire’s BBC News interview again on the DAUK Instagram. In an interview with LBC, Dr Shire stressed the need to avoid stigmatising people who seek help for their mental health. She said: “Life is difficult at the moment.

Struggling

“If you’re struggling to find work, you can’t afford food, then you’re not going to feel great about things. “I think it’s about looking at what support is available.” Dr Shire highlighted the lack of timely access to talking therapies, with long waits leaving many people getting worse before treatment begins. In response to a question about people not working because of their mental health, she said that, if someone was able to, then working could be helpful in recovery from any health condition.

Bigger picture

She added ‘people needed to be supported to work’, including being allowed time off to attend medical and therapy appointments. “We need to look at the bigger picture,” she said. “Why are people coming forward and how can we help them?” Listen again to her LBC interview on the DAUK Instagram. The most recent NHS survey on mental health showed more people have common mental health conditions now, with a 45% increase since 1993. It found that and 20% of NHS activity is related to mental health.

Mental health funding

However, mental health services only received 8.7% of the NHS budget in 2024/25. This is set to fall in 2025/26. Dr Shire said: “Without adequate funding and support for people, it’s hard to see how we can expect people to overcome their mental health conditions.” All of our committee members are volunteers. They speak to the media and campaign on the issues facing doctors in their own time. Please support their work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe.

Spending review

“If that funding is inadequate then it should not be celebrated. “For example, the 1,700 new GPs the Chancellor mentioned are not full-time equivalent numbers. “It’s fewer than 1,000 FTE – and most of these are in non-substantive roles across a number of practices. “There are still thousands of GPs unable to find work. This will only increase in August with a new cohort. “Context is key. The 3.5 million extra appointments is less than three days’ work for GP practices. “Social care is not being funded and with thousands of patients stuck in hospitals awaiting care packages or placements, or people in need leading to health problems, this cannot be ignored. “Genuine honesty is required from our political leaders. The spin implies all is well. It’s far from it.” Please support our work by contributing to our crowd funder or by becoming a member.

NHS investment

Describing the NHS as the country’s ‘jewel in the crown’, Dr Welch highlighted the lack of investment in the service, and in primary care in particular, as being an issue behind public dissatisfaction. She wrote: “… we can’t have a sparkling jewel in our crown if the tiara we are wearing comes from Poundland.” Read Dr Welch’s blog on LBC.co.uk. Meanwhile, Dr Steve Taylor, DAUK’s GP spokesperson, has been speaking in the media about requirements for ICBs to set up ‘interface groups’ to oversee the expansion of advice and guidance.

Primary care

Speaking to GPonline, Dr Taylor said the groups were a welcome move and strong primary care representation was needed. He said: “It’s important to have a strong GP voice in those groups, otherwise they could just create downward pressure on GPs not to refer. “It needs to be equal, with GP representation from people who are working within the system currently and who have the ear of local GPs to state clearly to the hospital trust what the problems are.” Read the GPonline article in full. Please support our work by contributing to our crowd funder or by becoming a member.

That was the message today from DAUK’s GP lead Dr Lizzie Toberty in a front-page interview with a national newspaper.

Dr Toberty was speaking to i News about a pledge by health secretary Wes Streeting during the general election that Labour would allow patients to easily book appointments to see the doctor they want, in the manner they choose”.

She said that in order to match funding levels from a decade ago, general practice needed at least another £35 per year, per patient.

“That’s less than £3 a month, less than a price of a coffee. And we have evidence from The King’s Fund that people are willing to pay a little bit more tax to have better healthcare,” she said.

Read the i News article in full.

Dr Toberty’s comments have also been reported in the Independent, the Guardian, and in regional newspapers including the Express and Star. And the article was also discussed in the newspaper review on Sky News.

Posting on X, formerly Twitter, Dr Toberty added: “Let’s be clear … the problems of the ‘8am scramble’ are not insurmountable. Just fund core general practice.”

Support the work of the Doctors’ Association UK by becoming a member.

Dr Taylor, GP spokesperson for the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK), was responding to a new study by academics from the University of Leicester which found that seeing the same GP could help people live longer.

Living in areas of England with more fully qualified GPs and better funded surgeries all had a positive impact, the research found.

Dr Taylor told national radio listeners that GPs agreed with the findings, but that there were not enough to deliver the care patients deserve because of a retention crisis.

Speaking on the Nick Ferrari programme on LBC, Dr Taylor said: “This study says basically what we all know, we would all benefit from seeing the same doctor and GPs totally agree with that.

“Retention of GPs is a problem.

“Fundamentally, it’s down to some of the decision making at NHS England and funding arrangements.

“There’s been a 20 per cent reduction in funding for GP practices, which means it’s hard to employ and retain GPs.”

Dr Taylor told LBC listeners that GPs receive around £165 per patient per year. The figures has risen by £13 since 2015, representing a 20 per cent real terms reduction over the past nine years, while the numbers of patients they’re seeing has risen.

“The average in the UK is 2,300 patients per GP,” he said. “It was 1,800 in 2015.

“GPs coming through training, there just isn’t the funding to support the employment of many of them.”

Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, Dr Taylor added: “NHS England need to fund GP practices so they can recruit and retain GPs, instead of funding cuts & supporting only ARRS (Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme) roles.”

Read more on the University of Leicester study.

According to the British Social Attitudes survey fewer than a quarter of people (24 per cent) were satisfied with the NHS in 2023.

It is a five per cent drop from the previous year and down 46 per cent from the highest-ever recorded satisfaction rating of 70 per cent in 2010.

The biggest reasons for dissatisfaction with the NHS were waiting times, staff shortages and a lack of Government investment in the service.

Steve Taylor, DAUK’s GP spokesperson, said: “After 14 years of austerity, cuts and underinvestment, these figures come as no surprise to me, and I’m sure to many who work in the NHS.

DAUK’s GP spokesperson Dr Steve Taylor says a lack of funding lies behind the drop in public satisfaction with the NHS

“There are a lot of reasons for public satisfaction in the NHS being at its lowest level including poor leadership and poor decisions.

“The most important one is a failure to invest adequately in all areas of the service, particularly in the areas that would make the most difference, such as general practice.

“Getting a GP appointment was one of the biggest frustrations for people, but if we look at general practice, it accounts for 1.3 million appointments every day, almost double the total number of appointments in all other areas of the NHS.

“Despite this, general practice receives just 5.4 per cent of the NHS budget and has had funding reduced by 20 per cent in real terms per patient since 2016.

“It’s led to the number of GPs falling by seven per cent, and yet GPs are doing 20 per cent more appointments.

“It seems to me the blame lies with MPs and not GPs.” 

“Blockbuster famously went bust, for Mr Javid to fail to even acknowledge the workforce and staff retention issues shows how out of touch he is with the crisis the NHS and social care system faces through his lack of investment over the last decade. Does he actually care or is he more concerned about soundbites than patient care?”