TY - JOUR T1 - GP workforce crisis: what can we do now? JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 206 LP - 207 DO - 10.3399/bjgp22X719225 VL - 72 IS - 718 AU - Laura Jefferson AU - Mike Holmes Y1 - 2022/05/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/72/718/206.abstract N2 - Recent weeks have seen GPs giving evidence to a parliamentary committee on the crisis facing UK general practice, with particular focus being placed on the need to recruit and retain the workforce. GPs were dissatisfied and struggling before the COVID-19 pandemic,1–3 but, as a systematic review included in this issue suggests,4 this period has exposed GPs to additional pressures without the resources to manage them. Several commentaries have been made as to the sources of these pressures and there has been a call to action for policymakers to address growing issues of general practice capacity. UK GP workforce vacancy rates reveal one in seven GP posts are currently vacant,5 but while increasing the pool of doctors will take some time to achieve, here we consider potential solutions to support general practice in the immediate term and retain those doctors we have. In the spirit of CS Lewis: ‘You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending’.We use Michael West’s framework — the ABC of needs6,7 — to frame policy solutions for general practice using the concepts of autonomy, belonging, and contribution that have previously been shown to be integral to promoting the wellbeing of the health workforce. Our own research evidence4,8,9 highlights how these key characteristics were eroded during the COVID-19 pandemic, but understanding the importance of these facets may also offer future solutions.GPs’ autonomy and … ER -