People in the UK are increasingly relying on community pharmacies for health advice and support as they are unable to access their general practitioner (GP).
According to a recent report by the Liberal Democrats, there was a significant increase in the number of patients waiting four weeks or more to see a GP in
England last year, rising from 12.8 million in 2022 to 17.6 million.
Responding to this research report, the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) highlighted that GPs are also struggling to meet the increasing demand for
their services due to severe staff shortages.
Dr. Victoria Tzortziou-Brown, Vice Chair of the RCGP, stated that the average number of patients each GP is responsible for has increased by 158 compared to five
years ago.
Although she acknowledged that many patients are forced to wait for weeks to see their GP, she said that doctors too are grappling with "unmanageable and
unsustainable workloads" and "we can't keep doing more with less."