The Royal College of General Practitioners has launched an advertising campaign to urge General Practitioners to take more breaks for the safety of patients.

The campaign, called ‘Put Patients First’, is designed to push patient’s safety, to counter increasing rates of fatigue amongst GPs.

The campaign comes off a recent RCGP discussion paper highlighting the level of growing fatigue amongst GPs as a threat to patients.

Dr Maureen Baker, RCGP Chair stated: “Most people would not get on a plane flown by a tired pilot, or jump on a train where they knew the driver had already worked a 12-hour day - and most patients would not choose to be the 40th or 50th patient at the end of a long day in surgery.

“Rising patient demand, excessive bureaucracy, fewer resources, and a chronic shortage of GPs are resulting in worn-out doctors, some of whom are so fatigued that they can no longer guarantee to provide safe care to patients. GPs are currently seeing too many patients a day to be safe and at the end of a long day in clinic, we will still have a mountain of paperwork to get through.”

Are you an overworked GP? Let us know

The team at Key Locums would like to wish all of our candidates, clients, and friends a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2015 has been a big year for Key Locums. We were acquired by the Urban Recruitment Group and have opened up new branches in Central London and Essex. We hope 2016 sees continued growth and success for us, and with the support of our hard working candidates and clients we’re sure it will be a great year!

Wishing you a peaceful Christmas and a fantastic New Year!

The Key Locums Team 

The NHS is being called on by GP leaders to bring a halt to time wasted due to the need to rearrange patients’ missed referral appointments.

Research shows that 4.5% of GP appointments are taken up because hospital referrals are being missed and GPs have to re-book them on their patients’ behalf.

GPC chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul claims that this is as many as 14 million appointments in a year being used to re-book missed referrals. He said this is a ‘scandalous waste,’ which is ‘denying other ill patients access to a GP.’

 Dr Nagpaul has requested NHS England to create new guidelines implementing an automatic re-booking system to make patients and GPs’ lives easier.

Dr Nagpaul also said: ‘we are trying to sort this out at a national level as well as putting pressure on CCGs. But we need NHS England to direct CCGs to ensure every provider stops automatic requests for a re-referral.’

The GPC asks all GPs to contacts hospital and CCGs and request that this new system is put in place.

Your GP or General Practitioner is usually your first point of call for when you get sick. They are typically easy to organise an appointment with, which can be done by phoning up the doctor’s surgery you’re registered with and arranging to be seen at the next convenient time.

What many people don’t know is that GPs aren’t just there for diagnosing the common cold. They have been specially trained to recognise the symptoms for hundreds of things that can affect us.

Everyone knows that most illnesses are easier to treat when caught in the earlier stages, so it’s important to get yourself checked out if you notice that something’s not quite right…

1. Skin Lesions

Skin lesions such as moles, warts, bites, skin tags, and eczema can seem relatively harmless…and most of the time they are. But if you start to notice any unusual changes in them, you may need to visit your GP.

Look out for moles that don’t look like any of your other moles, unusual colouring, continued growth, uneven or uncertain borders, and odd shapes.

1. A Cough Lasting For More Than 3 Weeks

Coughs and colds are so common these days that many simply shrug them off and try to carry on with daily life as normal.

However, when a cough has been troubling you for more than 3 weeks, you may have cause to make an appointment with your GP. This is standard for most minor illnesses that shouldn’t last more than 2-3 weeks.

1. Unexplained Weight Loss

Although losing weight is commonly thought of as a positive thing, it can be negative when you are downsizing quickly through no real effort. It’s always worth getting yourself checked out as sudden dramatic weight loss can be caused by a number of things.

1. Unusual Bleeding

Blood has a clever way of telling us when something isn’t right in our bodies. You should visit your GP if:

• You find blood in your urine/stool
• You’re menstruating more often/for longer than usual
• Cuts are taking much longer to stop bleeding/heal

1. Unprotected Sex

Sometimes visiting a clinic can be an intimidating experience when you need to have your sexual health checked. If you’d like to be tested by someone you know personally and feel comfortable with, your GP can provide you with tests.

It’s important to remember that your GP is not there for emergencies. In extreme cases, always visit your nearest hospital A&E department or call 999 for an ambulance if required.

Similarly, it’s important to remember that the A&E department is for emergencies only and any minor sickness can be looked at by your GP who will refer you to a specialist if further action is needed.