By Peter Lloyd for MailOnline and Sam Blanchard Health Reporter For Mailonline
Published: 16:35 GMT, 18 February 2019 | Updated: 16:35 GMT, 18 February 2019
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The majority of doctors say they are too busy to provide the quality of end-of-life care they would like to.
That's the finding of a new survey done by the Royal College of General Practitioners, which quizzed 1,000 GPs across the UK.
Medical professionals blame growing workloads and funding cuts for the problem.
The research also found 62 per cent of doctors feel there's insufficient community support available to terminally ill patients and their families, because of a lack of funds.
Insight: A new survey undertaken by ComRes for the Royal College of General Practitioners, analysed 1,000 GPs across the UK - with alarming results
Although 92 per cent of doctors said end-of-life care is an 'important' part of being a doctor, four out of five of them say they don't have enough time to do it well.
The Royal College of GPs announced its findings as it launched a new set of standards with terminal illness charity Marie Curie, GP Online reported.
Its survey results come amid numerous warning signs of the strain being put on family doctors around the UK.
Official figures showed in February that 41 per cent of GPs – around 10,000 doctors – are 50 or over and are expected to quit within the next five to ten years.
And 2.5 million patients are at risk of their local GP surgery closing because so many are relying on doctors who are close to retirement, it was last week revealed.
At the same time, fewer young doctors are choosing to specialise as GPs and are opting for other career paths as surgeons or specialists.
Many GPs are retiring in their 50s, moving abroad or leaving to work in the private sector, increasing the pressure on those who still work in the sector.
Appointment waiting times are getting longer and more people are going to A&E for minor illnesses because they can't see a doctor.
Despite an NHS a plan to recruit 5,000 extra GPs by 2021, numbers of family doctors are falling.
And 762 GP practices across the UK could close within the next five years, according to the Royal College of Nursing.
Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, last week told The Times: 'This is a desperate situation with potentially serious consequences for patients.'
The Government recently announced its plans to recruit
