Conclusion

General practice in the UK has many strengths – chief among them, its roots in a universal health care system which is free at the point of delivery, and the longstanding relationships built up with families and communities that are essential to good care. Compared to some of the countries included in this study, general practice in the UK performs well in several key areas.

However, data from the survey should add to the growing chorus of alarm bells for policymakers. After a decade of austerity in NHS funding and cuts in wider services that impact on health, general practice in the UK has never looked more vulnerable. Policies to improve and reform primary care services – including PCNs – must reflect the context in which they will be implemented. Solutions to pressures in general practice that rely on the existing GP workforce doing more are likely to misfire.

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