Read more on KentOnline
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Any additional GPs are welcome, but the numbers are relatively small compared with the demand we
00:06have across Kent. And we continue to have parts of Kent where the numbers of patients per GP
00:12is extremely high, amongst the highest in the country. So it's a move towards improving the
00:18situation. The other thing is that we need to be retaining GPs. One of the problems is that more
00:25people have retired early or left because the workload has been excessive or moved to other
00:30parts of the country. And all of that means that we have to work extra hard in Kent to make sure that
00:35we've got enough GPs to meet the demand. The last 20 years in Kent, the problem we've had is a vicious
00:40cycle in the sense that GPs come in, they start a job and then realise they're working 50% harder
00:48than colleagues in other parts of the country. And it's not something you can maintain for long
00:53periods of time. And so often after a few years, they burn out and they leave. And of course,
00:58we're in a county where there is a population growth of around 10 to 15,000 people per year.
01:04So you've actually got to have another seven or so GPs every single year just to match that population
01:10increase.