POLL REVEALS GPS ARE OVERWHELMED CRISIS IN THE SURGERY

86% struggling with mental health. Patients at risk' due to overwork

- VIVIENNE AITKEN

PATIENTS' lives are at risk as their GPS become swamped with work, it was claimed last night.

The warning came after 86 per cent of family doctors admitted in a poll that their mental health is suffering.

Some are seeing up to twice as many patients in a day as is recommended under safety guidance.

Dr Amy Small said: "We are getting decision fatigue and that, in turn, is going to affect patient care and patient safety.

PATIENTS' lives are at risk because GPs are so overworked it's affecting their mental heath, it has been claimed.

A poll of local doctors in Scotland found 86 per cent who responded had felt anxiety, stress, or depression in the last year.

Campaigners say a shortage of GPS and a massive surge in demand for their services has led to "burn-out".

Now the Scottish Government has been urged to recruit hundreds of new GPS to ease the crisis.

Midlothian locum GP Dr Amy Small revealed the shocking survey results on behalf of the Rebuild GP Campaign, run by BMA Scotland and the General Practice Defence Fund.

She said: "We have hit a point now where things are so tight in general practice that we have this perfect storm where issues of retention and recruitment are now actually causing issues of patient safety.

"GPs have been calling for some time for more recruitment. The Scottish Government had promised 800 GPs by 2027 but we have yet to see evidence of that.

"GPS are retiring early because of pension changes that are harshly penalising them and GPs are burning out because workload is just overwhelming" Dr Small described the situation as "completely overwhelming".

She added: "I have seen friends who I thought were unshakeable people.

People I thought would go on forever as full-time partners now resigning completely from their partnerships.