GP PRACTICES are not “an unlimited resource to be abused” in the government’s bid to tackle secondary care waiting lists, practitioners say.

The warning comes after a survey of 408 GPs for Pulse magazine found 30 per cent had to stop taking bookings for routine appointments between June 2022 and June 2023.

Doctors told Pulse this was down to staff shortages and rising demand in general practice.

Some also said cancellations resulted in abuse from patients.

GP Dr Zishan Syed said that there is an “expectation” for “face-to-face everything,” saying: “All the government cares about is reducing secondary care waiting lists.

“GPs are seen as an unlimited resource to be abused to achieve this and patients do not value the service.”

Royal College of GPs chairwoman Professor Kamila Hawthorne said that the Pulse survey “makes for sad, but unsurprising, reading,” saying “we cannot work any harder.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said that the survey is “misleading,” saying: “The survey used a small sample and fewer than 2 per cent of all general practices said they had to stop routine appointments at any point during the last year.”