A CRISIS in finding new GPs to work in South Worcestershire could lead to surgery closures and damage patient care, according to medical officials.

Alarming figures reveal only nine young doctors have signed up to work in the area this year, less than half the usual 23 recruits, while numerous older doctors are nearing retirement age.

It is feared the "frightening" staff shortage will mean patients in South Worcestershire struggle to get appointments, waiting times increase and services are stretched to breaking point.

The patient to GP ratio, which is reportedly about 1,500 to 1 in South Worcestershire, could also rocket if at-risk practices shut down, placing stressed doctors under even more pressure.

Dr John O’Driscoll, senior partner at Spring Gardens Group Medical Practice in Worcester, said: “We all knew things were bad but these latest recruitment figures are a dramatic illustration of quite how unpopular working as a GP has become.

“There is a recruitment and retention crisis and it is frightening how few young doctors are signing up.

“We won’t have enough new recruits to cover the older doctors who are going to retire, let alone to meet the government’s target for seven day opening for routine matters.

“Surgeries are at-risk and there is a real likelihood practices will be forced to close.

“It could happen this month, it might not happen for some years, but there is a serious risk and patients are bound to suffer.

“We simply won’t have enough GPs to do the job properly.”

He added the job is too stressful to attract young doctors and explained there is not a lot individual practices can do but “take it on the chin” because recruitment is organised regionally.

Dr Simon Parkinson, secretary of Worcestershire Local Medical Committee, the body that represents family doctors in the county, echoed these sentiments.

He said: “It is a major problem and is deeply concerning.

“We are telling anybody who will listen we are in crisis and this will impact on patients and practices.

“It is a double whammy with stressed GPs who are burnt out retiring and then not being replaced with young doctors.

“A surgery closed in Kington, Herefordshire, because it could not recruit new doctors. Nobody in Worcester is in that position but there are certainly a number of practices in real difficulty.

“The root of the problem is that GPs are swamped and the workload is totally unmanageable.”

Peter Pinfield, chairman of patient watchdog Healthwatch Worcestershire, has similarly expressed his fears over this recruitment shortfall, which he believes will only get worse as experienced GPs retire.

“It would be very foolish to ignore doctors’ concerns over staffing”, he said.

“We must not let the numbers of GPs drop too far because this would start having a negative effect on services.

“It would add to waiting lists, lead to delays in diagnoses and that would not be good.

Dr O’Driscoll, who is secretary of the Worcestershire and Herefordshire division of the British Medical Association, has also lambasted the government for its policies on primary care.

“It is a joke they want us to open seven days a week because we have not got enough doctors for five days”, he said.

“It takes 10 years to train a GP from school so you can’t just magic up doctors out of nothing.

“There have been steady decreases in practice remuneration since 2004 and, while we can’t say we are badly paid, the market forces don’t lie.

“Young doctors are voting with their feet and choosing hospital jobs or posts abroad rather than becoming local GPs.

“Another major problem is GPs leaving the profession early, with males most likely to leave in their early 50s, and frighteningly, for whatever reasons, female GPs being most likely to leave in their 30s.”

Dr Parkinson was similarly forthright in his comments about government policy.

“There is a fixation with seven day opening”, he added.

“It is frankly bizarre because we need to get the basics right first before we put the icing on the cake.

“The government really needs to address workload. Our funding is dropping – how can we do more with less?

“Ten minute slots to see patients are also a nonsense – we inevitably run late, patients moan and it is poor, but that is the reality of where we are.

“Politicians really need to address workload and until someone introduces demand management for GPs it is only going to get worse.”

He added that Worcestershire Local Medical Committee plans to lobby the MPs in the county for support on this important issue.