A study published in BMJ Open reports that GP practices in more socioeconomically deprived areas would need support to increase patient contact by 14% in order to reach parity with more affluent areas.
The study used records from 150 GP practices across more than 770,000 patients, and showed that patients in more deprived areas ‘have less contact time with their practices’ but ‘only when viewed in relation to morbidity’.
The researchers concluded these practices would require a ‘significant increase in resources’ in order to deliver the equivalent level of care as practices in less deprived areas.
Full story in Pulse, 22 September 2023