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How primary care healthcare professionals in the UK are reacting to NHS challenges

12.03.2025 | Insight

How primary care healthcare professionals in the UK are reacting to NHS challenges

Primary care healthcare professionals (HCPs) across the UK are at the heart of patient care within the NHS. From general practitioners (GPs) to community pharmacists, dentists, and ophthalmologists, these professionals not only deliver frontline services, but also actively engage in discussions about the future of the NHS, healthcare policy, and systemic challenges. Their voices highlight the struggles of an overstretched system, the impact of government policies, and the urgent need for reform.

Using social media insights from 2024, this article explores the most pressing concerns raised by primary care based HCPs in the UK. ​Their discussions go beyond daily clinical work, touching on several crises in general practice such as workforce shortages, funding constraints, and political influence on healthcare.

The biggest challenges in the NHS: patient care, workforce challenges, and political influence

NHS services are facing mounting pressures, with staff shortages, funding gaps, and political decisions shaping the future of patient care. Primary care HCPs have voiced growing frustration over a lack of resources, increasing workloads, and the negative impact on patient well-being. Concerns also extend to ethical practices and the sustainability of the workforce.

  • 131,000+
    total HCP mentions related to primary care in the UK
  • 3,000+
    HCP mentions of NHS waiting times and patient access issues
  • 1,000+
    references by HCPs to workforce shortages, highlighting strain on primary care

These concerns reflect the reality of working in an overstretched system, with HCPs calling for sustainable solutions to address workforce planning and funding. 

General practice in crisis: employment issues and closures threaten patient care

General practice, often the first point of contact for patients, is under severe strain according to many HCPs, such as Dr Anish Patel who describes the relentless pace of life on the front line of healthcare in England. Patel’s post highlights the growing sentiment of unsustainability of the traditional first-come, first-served appointment system, which leaves receptionists overwhelmed and clinicians stretched thin amid a declining workforce. His post, and the accompanying thread, acknowledges that guaranteed access to a GP on demand seems no longer viable, he advocates for a shift towards sustainable care—prioritising staff wellbeing and allocating appointments based on clinical need. Adopting ‘total triage and fostering teamwork’, which his practice has implemented there are observable improvements, but he stresses that with additional resources, they could do far more.

GP unemployment, practice closures, and workforce crises are emerging as major concerns. Amongst the many primary care based HCPs Dr Steve Taylor argues that funding cuts and increased patient demand are leading to the breakdown of essential front line services.

  • Over 500 mentions
     By HCPs of GP unemployment and struggles finding work
  • 2,500+ references
     By HCPs to practice closures in 2024

For example, a post by Dr Heather Ryan highlights the challenges faced by newly qualified GPs, at a time where there are significant capacity issues in primary care: 

Similar sentiment was expressed by Dr Dean Eggitt who shared that some of his colleagues were considering giving up their licenses due to shortage of patient contact. HCPs indicate that according to many of them, these situations happen because of lack of appropriate funding. 

HCPs are increasingly discussing the need for urgent action to prevent further deterioration of general practice, advocating for improved funding, better workforce retention, and reduced administrative burdens. Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer’s post characterises this sentiment well: 

Government policies and healthcare: The growing frustration among HCPs

Primary care professionals have been vocal about the role of government policies in shaping the healthcare landscape. Issues such as workforce planning, financial pressures, and access to services remain at the forefront of discussions.

A key topic of debate is the impact of political decisions on NHS funding and workforce strategy. For instance, references to Wes Streeting, the UK’s Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, have surged in online discussions, with HCPs calling for meaningful reforms.

  • ~1,000 mentions
    By HCPs of Wes Streeting (current secretary of state for health and social care) in relation to NHS policy changes
  • Over 700 mentions
     By HCPs of the 2024 election’s impact on healthcare
  • 1,500 mentions
     By HCPs of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) funding decisions, highlighting major funding concerns

The negative sentiment with regards to how Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) across England have started making more local funding decisions has been picked up by HCPs such as Dr Ankit Kant, who criticised his local ICB for not providing more funding directly to general practices within his area. 

The 2024 UK election further fuelled discussions, with many HCPs fearing that healthcare remains a political battleground rather than a priority for reform, leading to uncertain longer term future, as indicated by Dr Green’s post below.

Physician Associates: A growing debate over their role in healthcare

The role of Physician Associates (PAs) in primary care has sparked intense debate, with concerns over their scope of practice, training, and patient safety. Many HCPs argue that PAs, while valuable, should not be seen as a replacement for fully trained doctors.

  • Over 600 mentions of PAs replacing doctors in primary care
  • More than 400 mentions of concerns about PA training and regulation

“One GP shared a story about struggling to find work in the Northwest of England, citing PAs as a reason for the lack of GP opportunities.”

Discussions also highlight the need for better regulation and clarity on PA roles, ensuring that patient safety and professional standards remain paramount. (For more information about this topic, check out this article by my colleague who wrote about HCP views on the roles of Physician Associates within the NHS).

Calls for systemic adoptions of improvements: Where could the positive change come from according to HCPs? 

Dr Ryan is one of many HCPs who advocate for innovative solutions to extend services to patients during challenging times, stating that women can now be referred through NHS 111 without the need to see a GP, thus speeding up the referral process and alleviating demands in primary care. 

Others such as Dr Eggitt highlight other innovative solutions to combat increased strain on primary care, supporting NHS England’s rollout of the NHS app to cover more services for patients.

Some HCPs feel that innovations such as the NHS recently updated Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) will help create efficiencies for front line NHS staff, as per Professor Azeem Majeed’s post.

Some HCPs are even more pragmatic and communicate a ‘wish list’ that they would like to see action on, such as a list shared by Dr Farhan Amin, who responded to a Times article on the state of the NHS and primary care in England.

 

Within the raging discussions about the challenges in primary care, some HCPs, such as Dr Selvaseelan Selvarajah, keep focused on the positives while advocating for the reintroduction of the concept of a ‘family doctor’ which is a novel way suggesting an old concept to resolve modern challenges.

Conclusion: will policymakers listen to HCP voices?

The discussions among primary care HCPs in the UK paint a picture of an NHS under pressure. From workforce challenges and GP burnout to the impact of government policies and the Physician Associate debate, many HCPs are demanding urgent reforms, with some being optimistic and focusing on innovative solutions as we have reported in this article.

Some HCPs such as Dr Daniel Hardiman-McCartney are hopeful policy makers are listening to HCPs in primary care.

However, with thousands of mentions related to NHS funding, waiting lists, and workforce shortages, the conversation is far from over. What remains to be seen is whether policymakers will listen and act to HCPs providing front line healthcare across the country. 

If you want to learn anything at all from the online voice of healthcare professionals, get in touch to ask about our unique HCP listening capabilities and experience. 

Study Methodology:

  • Utilising CREATION Pinpoint®, we analysed the online conversations made up of over 130,000 social media posts from 1,542 UK primary care HCPs discussing healthcare, primary care, the NHS and related topics.
  • Data for this research was analysed from the online X (Twitter) conversations of UK primary care HCPs in the English language between 01 January 2024 – 31 December 2024.

 

 

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Meet the Author

Bernard Groen

Bernard has worked in the NHS for nearly 15 years, culminating in a national role as Head of Data Management at NHS England/HEE. Additionally, Bernard worked at Accenture as Consulting Manager leading several large projects across a variety of public sector organisations. Bernard holds a doctoral degree and is a visiting research fellow at Durham University, and an associate professorship at UNICAF University.

Bernard loves spending time outdoors with family hiking, or on a road bike - going fast!