Senior doctor calls for ‘black alert’ safety system in UK general practice

Exclusive: Warning system similar to one used by hospitals would allow GPs to flag unsafe workload levels and trigger support

Britain’s top family doctor is calling for a “black alert” system to be introduced in general practice so that doctors can warn when surgeries are dangerously over capacity.

It comes as a report reveals that almost half of GPs can no longer guarantee safe care for millions of patients, as a shortage of medics means they are unable to cope with soaring demand.