Altogether now? Austerity at the Deep End

The Oxford Dictionary Online defines austerity as ‘sternness or severity of manner or attitude’ and ‘difficult economic conditions created by government measures to reduce public expenditure’. What does this mean for general practice, and what are we doing about it? For Deep End practitioners, working in the 100 most deprived general practices in Scotland, austerity means increasing pressures on time, diversion from clinical issues, and difficulty in accessing services. For Deep End patients, austerity can mean increasing stress, despair, and a forced choice between heating and eating. The Deep End report on the impact of austerity asked Deep End practices to reflect on the effects of austerity measures on patients and on patient care, during 1 week in February 2012.1 Most of the issues raised relate to the direct and indirect effects of austerity policies — benefit cuts, service cutbacks, and an increasing number of patients being taken off Employment Support Allowance (ESA) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA). Responses included …