Patients want GP boundaries to be scrapped

News story:  Patients have long been restricted to registering with the GP service located closest to their home, however for an increasing number of people this is not a viable option. Work commitments and long commutes mean that many patients are simply unable to visit their GP when they need to. The negative impact of current restrictions on patient care means that there is an increasing need for patients to be freer to choose where they receive their healthcare.

Analysis:  A recent patient consultation involving a small sample of the general public revealed that over three-quarters of patients would like to register with a GP service which is not the one located closest to their home address. The most common reasons cited by patients wanting more choice were limited accessibility due to work commitments, inconvenient surgery opening hours and lack of empathy from surgery staff and doctors. In response to the consultation findings the Patients Association is calling for an end to the “geographical strait jacket” of having to register with a local GP practice. Their hope is that in breaking down the barriers to health care patients will receive better care. The current model which only allows patients to register near home can be extremely difficult to work around and many feel that the ability to register with a surgery near work would allow greater accessibility to healthcare. Greater convenience is just one factor which is causing patients to push for change. Patients who feel they are not receiving an adequate standard of health care are also keen for change, as the current system does not allow them to vote with their feet and seek treatment elsewhere.
Representatives for GP groups argue that giving patients more choice may not necessarily be the best option due to increased costs and the impact of registering patients who live outside of the local area on wider community care. Doctors are particularly concerned about the loss of continuity of care when patients become unwell and require home visits; however, other concerns expressed by doctors include the potential for oversubscription of patients in certain busy urban areas.
Whilst in an ideal world patients would be free to choose where they are treated and surgeries would cope perfectly with demand, it is clear an outright abolition of catchment boundaries is not a solution which will work in the interest of all parties involved. Moving forward further consultation between patient groups and GPs leaders is certainly required in order to better balance patient needs and the way in which GP surgeries operate. Discussions about alternative forms of patient care such as the increased use of remote consultation could provide one means of providing better patient care.

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