County's GP unemployment rises, councillors told

Councillors have been told GP unemployment rates across Worcestershire have risen.

It comes after Worcestershire County Council's health overview and scrutiny committee spoke to health bosses at a meeting on Wednesday.

Roy Williams, a GP based in Stourport, said: "We are all independent businesses so with a reduction in income, our ability to employ new GPs just hasn't kept up with the demand for appointments."

He added: "There are quite a lot of GPs who are unemployed at the moment but sadly there just aren't enough posts for the number of GPs out there."

Williams explained the demand for appointments had risen by 20% since Covid, and that a formula used to work out how much each surgery gets "works against" practices in areas of deprivation.

"The national contract gives £160 for each patient on our list, for unlimited access to appointments. That's less than the cost of one outpatient appointment," he said.

Committee chair Karen May said: "It's really important we address the deprivation, otherwise society pays the price."

Charmaine Hawker, director of primary care commissioning and contracting for Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board said the funding formula had not changed since 2004 but was being reviewed at a national level.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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