THE result of the recent survey of GPs revealing that one-third are planning to retire by 2020 should come as no surprise given the repeated warnings of low morale, increasingly unsustainable workload, political interference and the apparent public perception that they are overpaid and underworked ("Fears of GP shortages as one-third of doctors plan to retire", The Herald, April 15).
No-one has taken the warnings of the British Medical Association (BMA) seriously and no action has yet been taken. When will the penny finally drop? Apparently not yet, given the ineptly bland reply by our Health Minister, Ms Robison, when confronted with the survey results, that investment had seen a 6.9 per cent increase in GP numbers (how encouraging) and that many will choose to return and perform locum work.
Fewer and fewer will choose to return given the degree of disillusionment of most GPs who retire before 60, like myself. Also the expense of maintaining General Medical Council registration, medical defence fees and also the rigours of appraisal and revalidation (no pro rata reduction for part-time work) are powerful disincentives to rerun to locum work.
It takes at least 10 years to train to be a GP. I fear the opportunity has been lost to avert what now seems an inevitable crisis.
David Mathie,
Retired GP, 16 Sheepburn Road, Uddingston.
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