Fury erupted today over the rise of the 'part-time' GP, with campaigners demanding family doctors work a minimum number of hours a week in return for their taxpayer-funded training.
Data from a Government-backed study shows the average GP — who earns around £100,000 a year — was working just 6.6 sessions each week before Covid.
Silver Voices, a campaign group representing elderly Britons, called on ministers to take 'control' of the hours GPs are working. It can cost up to £230,000 to train up a doctor over the course of several years, but the Government makes some money back through student loan repayments.
Director of the group, Dennis Reed, said: 'If people are put through very expensive health training all that is partly provided for free, there should be an expectation that they will work a certain amount of hours.'
He blamed the drop in sessions for being one of the main reasons why patients are struggling to see their GP in the flesh. Other critics said it was 'disgraceful' doctors were earning six-figure salaries for working three-day weeks.
But GPs today hit back at the part-time accusations, which came after a grieving husband claimed his cancer-stricken wife would still be a live if a GP hadn't refused to make a home visit.
The British Medical Association, the trade union for doctors, argued the notion of a 'part-time GP is often anything but'. It said the average doctor still works 40 hours per work — just split into fewer sessions, and the current levels of workload were made worse by 'piles of admin and bureaucracy'.
It called for family doctors to be relieved of red tape, in a move it claims would allow them to devote more time to patients.
The BMA's calls come after it was revealed GPs could be stripped of responsibilities to free up their time. Under plans being considered by ministers, pharmacists could also be given the power to dish out prescriptions.
Face-to-face appointments have still not returned to pre-Covid levels, despite family doctors being ordered to offer them to those who still want them.
The Royal College of GPs has blamed rising a workload and falling numbers for the 'tremendous pressure' doctors are under. This has led to many burning out, working less than full-time or leaving the profession, it said.
There is now just one practitioner for every 2,000 patients, with the rate having risen 5 per cent since 2015. In the worst-affected parts of England, the rate is nearly one in 3,000.
It comes as a grieving husband today claimed his cancer-stricken wife would still be alive if a GP hadn't refused to make a home visit.
Anton, a father-of-three from Bromley, begged a doctor to visit his 44-year-old wife who was in 'severe pain'. But a nurse was sent instead, who only checked her pulse and temperature.
By the time his wife eventually made it to hospital, it was 'too late', he told LBC in a heartbreaking interview this morning. She died three months ago after her disease had spread to her brain.
The average number of sessions GPs works in a day have gone down over the last decade while their wage growth has gone up. In 2012 the average GP worked 7.3 sessions a week but this has now fallen to 6.6 a week, the equivalent of just over three days of work a week. In the same period the average GP income went up by more than £6,000. A GP's daily work is divided into sessions. According to the NHS, a full-time GP works 8 sessions a week, formed of two sessions a day, generally starting at 8am and finishing at 6.30pm, though these hours can vary
The number of GP appointments taking place face-to-face dropped dramatically at the beginning of the pandemic, as virtual appointments were encouraged in an attempt to keep social mixing low and hospitals virus-free. In-person appointments began to increase last summer, before dropping again during the second wave. Despite being on the rise, the figures are still much lower than pre-pandemic levels
Mr Reed