People in England are visiting their GP practices more often, and are having longer consultations than they were in 2007, resulting in a 16% rise in clinical workload, researchers led by the University of Oxford found. Workload changes were over and above any extra demand from the 5.2% increase in population since 2007.
Writing in the Lancet, the researchers suggest there are signs that the overall primary care system in England may be reaching 'saturation point.'