This report is accompanied by 'A day in the life of a GP'. This typical day in the life of a GP draws on the experiences of several GPs working in different practices who we spoke to as part of the research for this report. It has been reviewed by a number of GPs to ensure it accurately reflects a day working in primary care.
Increasing demands on general practice over the past five years - not just a heavier workload but the increasing complexity and intensity of work - have led to a feeling of crisis. The NHS is finding it difficult to recruit and retain sufficient GPs who want to do full-time, patient-facing work. This report looks at patient factors, system factors and supply-side issues to see what lies behind this increasing pressure on general practice. It finds that despite GPs being at the heart of the health care system, a lack of nationally available, real-time data has made their changing workload largely invisible to commissioners and policy-makers.