Peterborough doctor issues stark picture of life as a city GP responsible for the care of 2,375 patients

A Peterborough doctor has painted a stark picture of her working life as a GP now she is responsible for 2,375 patients, after the city health service was recently described at “breaking point.”

Doctor Shabina Qayyum said she often feels like “breathing a sigh of relief” after leaving a busy shift.

She is one of eight registered GPs who care for 19,000 city patients, two of whom are practice partners at Central Medical Centre.

Dr Qayyum said: “I can honestly tell you that there hasn’t been a time when I’ve come away from work where I am not very stressed – and that cannot be a good thing.“I come away breathing a sigh of relief, saying: ‘thank goodness the day is over’ and that has gone on now since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020.”

It comes as the latest Adults and Health Scrutiny Committee meeting revealed all 602 GPs in Peterborough are now responsible for 2,304 patients, according to the Primary Care Services report.

Dr Qayyum added: “Peterborough has a large, frail, and elderly population, many of whom have English as a second language, so, you have to be meticulous when it comes to their care to make sure that you aren’t missing anything, red flagging of symptoms that they perhaps can’t relate to you.“On top of all the patients that we see and care for, there is a vast amount of administration that GPs are responsible for.”She said she personally has a policy of trying to see as many children patients under the age of five as a priority.On top of seeing patients, she also reviews letters from NHS 111 and GP notices of priority patients who have been called-back.Then, she has paperwork to file after reviewing patients and following-up blood results and other tests - which she said takes time away from dealing with and helping patients.She added: “This is why patients get so frustrated when they try to get hold of their GP practice only to find after a long wait on the phone being ‘sixty-third’ in the queue or something.

"Appointments can be days or even weeks away, or worse, by the time they get answered there are no appointments left at all – I do understand all of this.”

She is keen to trial nurses or other health professionals to man the phone and triage the to a doctor or pharmacist.

Aside from her day job as a GP, she’s also mum-of-four and a Peterborough City Councillor, representing the Labour Party in East Ward.

Dr Qayyum is married to an ear, nose and throat surgeon, she said: “I am very lucky in that I have an incredibly supportive and understanding husband who, because of what he does, knows about the pressure on me.

"We work together as a team to bring up our children, who are also are very patient and have to put up with parents who are always busy.

“I’ve seen many of my colleagues suffer from ‘burn-out’, which is one of the reasons I changed from working four days a week to the two-and-a-half days a week that I now do.

She added that through having that additional time, she has managed to fit in her political role as a councillor with Peterborough City Council.

She added: “There will always be a holistic need for a doctor to be there because we play such an integral role in their socio-economic lives.

"We hear about their cost of living problems, are people eating healthily? Do they have access to affordable food for them and their children? If not, health issues – especially among our elderly and frail – are compounded, putting yet more pressure on us GPs. It isn’t an easy fix.”

Councillor Dr Shabina Qayyum sits on the Adults and Health Scrutiny Committee and the Health and Wellbeing Board of Peterborough City Council.

She added: “Things have improved now that we have the Integrated Care Systems working more within the community. And, if I look at that with my councillor glasses on, as well as a doctor, I can only hope that they improve on empowering the communities to take responsibility for some of their medical issues.”