GP practices facing 'catastrophic' £400m financial black hole "If we are working beyond 11 hours we are not safe," she said. You don't want a tired GP any more than a tired pilot or a tired surgeon. We can't keep expecting them to do more. According to the figures, released ahead of the RCGP annual conference in Harrogate, investment in general practice fell to £8,459 million in 2012/3, from £8,865 million in 2009/10. The medic said lack of GP funding has already resulted in bigger queues for patients, a longer wait for an appointment and delays getting through to the surgery on the telephone. Dr Gerada said that while politicians had been saying for years that more care should be delivered close to home, with a greater focus on prevention, the figures show funding moving in the opposite direction. GPs are keen to do more for their patients but we are heaving under the pressure of ever increasing workloads and diminishing resources, including a chronic shortfall of GPs. Some of us are routinely working 11-hour days with up to 60 patient contacts in a single day and this is not safe or sustainable, for patients or GPs. We simply cannot do more without the funding and resources to back it up," she said. The RCGP said that while more than 90 per cent of patient contact within the NHS is with a GP, only 9 per cent of the entire budget is currently awarded to general practices. Dr Gerada said: "We are working our hardest to make sure that patients are not affected but the status quo is no longer an option. We must have an emergency package of additional investment for general practice to protect GP services and protect our patients from cuts to their care. The analysis, from data produced by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, comes after Prime Minister David Cameron announced a £50 million trial to encourage longer GP surgery opening hours, with the aim of extending them from 8am to 8pm seven days a week. Dr Gerada said: "General practice is the most cost-effective and efficient arm of the health service - GPs keep the rest of the NHS stable and secure. Once general practice starts to crumble, the entire NHS will follow with disastrous consequences for our patients. In August this year, the Government announced an additional £500 million over the next two years for A&E departments. What we need is our fair share of funding - at least 10 per cent of the entire NHS budget and at least 10,000 more GPs - so that GPs can provide more services for patients in their communities. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the British Medical Association general practitioners committee, said: "These figures, if accurate, confirm what most GPs experience on a daily basis - inadequate resources to meet ever rising patient demand, compounded by the pressures of an ageing population and care moving out of hospitals and into general practice." A Department of Health spokesman said: "GPs do a vital job. Investment in general practice increased 1.3 per cent last year but we know GPs are under pressure to do more with tight budgets. That's why this week we announced a £50 million fund for GPs who want to pioneer new ways of working, to help make the best use of their time. We have also asked Health Education England to work towards getting 50 per cent of medical students to become GPs so they have more resources.