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Why many people in Denmark don’t have a regular GP

Ritzau/The Local
Ritzau/The Local - [email protected]
Why many people in Denmark don’t have a regular GP
A file photo of a GP clinic in Denmark. Photo: Thomas Lekfeldt/Ritzau Scanpix

The number of residents of Denmark who do not have a regular GP is higher than ever before.

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Numbers from the trade union for general practitioners, Praktiserende Lægers Organisation, (PLO), show that 219,000 people in Denmark are registered at GP’s clinics where the doctor is an employee of the clinic and not its owner, newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad reports.

The head of the PLO trade union Jørgen Skadborg said the situation was “regrettable”.

“The Danish model for general practice ensures high quality and continuity of treatment, but is under strain because increasing numbers of clinics are being run without permanent doctors,” Skadborg said to Kristeligt Dagblad.

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“Never before have so many Danes been without a permanent GP,” he said.

The figure for people without a regular doctor was 182,000 in 2020 and 129,000 in 2018, according to PLO.

A GP, or familielæge (“family doctor”) in Danish, traditionally means a doctor who owns and runs their own clinic.

Health authorities generally favour the model because patient care is improved if their doctor is familiar with them and their care history.

But recent years have seen increasing difficulties finding buyers for GP’s clinics when their previous owners retire. Patients can therefore find themselves registered at practices where the doctor is an employee, and not guaranteed to remain in the role long-term.

The issue is unlikely to improve in the near future, Skadborg said.

“The number keeps increasing because there aren’t enough doctors who want to take over these clinics under normal conditions,” he said.

“But neither has it been possible to reach an alternative mutual vision for how general practice should be organised,”he said.

The Zealand and North Jutland regional health authorities are worst affected by the problem, Kristeligt Dagblad reports.

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