Priorities are clear for GP’s as GP partnerships decrease

There has been an independent government review of the partnership’s model for GP practices with an alarming conclusion. There is a lack of enthusiasm from GP’s when looking at the prospect of becoming a partner due to the lack of benefits and work/ life balance issues in the current climate.

It has been stated that especially amongst trainee GP’s, there seems to be a greater focus on greater flexibility and portfolio careers which is not seen to coincide with becoming a partner. It has been reported that there will need to be a considerable focus to accommodate these factors in the current partnership model as there is such a high demand for them.

In addition to all of this, since the early 2000’s real-terms income for partners has dropped considerably while work pressure and patient numbers have increased. These factors cannot be ignored as it making partnerships even less attractive for doctors.

There needs to be a significant improvement for partners in terms of work/ life balance, work pressures and finances. It is clear that the risks of being a GP partner outweigh the rewards, only when these major issues have been addressed will partnerships start to look attractive again.

The review is finding itself a steep challenge as last year official statistics showed that general practices have lost over 2,000 partners between 2015 and 2017.

Despite all of the information above contrary to popular myth, many younger GPs would consider joining a practice as a partner, but not immediately after completion of training. It has been reported that ‘They would like to gain more experience in working in different practices and be able to develop wider interests that would be valuable in their future careers, for example, in leadership or clinical areas.’

It is obvious why more and more GP’s turn to locum work every year to develop their portfolio, skills while being in complete control of their working life.

What are you thoughts on the current partnership model that is being used in surgeries? Let us know if you have any suggestions to improve it.

If you have ever thought about taking on locum GP work then feel free to give AppLocum a call or you can email us at hello@applocum.com