GP practices are facing uncontrollable ‘severe workload pressures’ as area team managers have refused 23 out of 78 requests for a temporary list closure in 2013, a rise of ten percentage points on the proportion refused permission the year before.
Pulse has learnt that the 27 area teams rejected 30% of GP practice requests for temporary list closure in 2013, compared with 20% of requests in 2012.
NHS England said the rise in refusals was due to area teams applying a ‘single approach’, compared with the variable approach taken by PCTs in 2012.