Complaints about GPs and dentists rise above pre-pandemic in Portsmouth as NHS faces 'spiralling' workload and pressure

Data from NHS Digital shows 335 complaints were made about GPs and dentists in the former NHS Portsmouth CCG area in the year to March. This has increased by 15 per cent from 292 issued in March 2019.

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Of last year's complaints, 110 (33 per cent) were fully upheld – meaning the medical provider was found to be in the wrong. The Royal College of GPs said medical professionals were ‘doing their absolute best in exceptionally difficult circumstances’.

Chair Kamila Hawthorne said ‘the vast majority of patients are satisfied with the care they received’ and called on the government to remedy the ‘spiralling workload and workforce pressures’ faced by GPs, urging it to take on a new recruitment and retention strategy to deal with staffing issues.

The British Medical Association, a trade union for medical staff, said it understands patients' frustrations, but GP practices are facing ‘unbearable pressures’.