Future of our services at risk without immediate investment and reform, say GPs
The future of GP services in Northern Ireland is “at risk without immediate investment and reform”, a paper has warned.
The publication by the Royal College of General Practitioners Northern Ireland (RCGPNI) sets out six recommendations to protect and strengthen the services.
These include: prioritising continuity of care; to increase investment in general practice; build workforce capacity and improve GP recruitment and retention; safeguard the GP partnership model; improve digital and physical infrastructure; and develop and deliver a comprehensive General Practice Strategy.
The college said the launch event at Parliament Buildings on Tuesday evening comes at a “critical time for the profession”, with practices facing unprecedented pressures from rising patient numbers, increasing complexity of care, workforce shortages, financial instability and growing expectations around health service transformation.
They said that while the Department of Health’s 2025 Reset Plan recognised the need to shift more care into communities, a strategic plan for general practice has yet to be developed to support and deliver this vision.
Dr Ursula Mason, Chair of RCGPNI, said the future of general practice is “uncertain”.
“General practice is the foundation of our health service. General practice provides 90% of patient contacts within our health system and is essential to delivering care closer to home,” she said.
“If we are serious about transforming health and social care, then general practice must be at the centre of those plans. Yet the reality is that the future of general practice remains fragile and uncertain.”
She described a “growing mismatch between patient demand and available resources”.
“While the number of GP practices has continued to fall, the number of registered patients continues to rise. GPs are managing increasingly complex care needs, with fewer resources and under significant pressure,” she said.
“These challenges are affecting GPs throughout their careers.
“We are finding it harder to attract doctors into general practice, harder to retain experienced GPs because of excessive workload and burnout, and harder to provide the continuity of care that is proven to deliver the best outcomes for patients.”
RCGPNI warns that years of underinvestment have left many practices struggling to remain viable.
“With only 5.4% of total health spending being invested in general practice in Northern Ireland, we are lagging well behind the other devolved administrations.
“The continued erosion of funding has left many practices struggling to meet basic operating costs and invest in services for patients.
“The consequences are already being felt. Twenty-nine GP practices have handed back their contracts since July 2022. Further instability will inevitably follow without urgent intervention.”
Dr Mason added: “General practice is not a cost pressure to be managed; it is the solution to many of the challenges facing our health service.
“Investing in general practice improves patient access, supports prevention, reduces pressure on hospitals and delivers better value for the health system as a whole.
“The decisions made now will shape the future of general practice for years to come.
“We urge the minister and the department of Health to act on these recommendations and provide the sustainable support that general practice, and our patients, urgently need.”