Lincolnshire practices can’t cope with queues, says GP

Dr Shekhawat said the on-call doctor’s shifts were “the most difficult because of the severity and volume”.

He once said he saw 40 people in an 11-hour shift without a proper lunch break.

“There’s also all the behind-the-scenes work like blood tests and letters from the hospital,” he added.

His practice has limited the number of pre-scheduled appointments to 25 per day for each employee, so they cannot be rushed. The reception time has been increased from 10 minutes to 15 minutes.

“This allows for better discussions and decision-making with the patient,” he said.

“You can’t do them justice in 10 minutes. It’s impossible to be as thorough as you want. That’s where you might miss something.”

The surgery department is also considering stopping work that the government doesn’t pay for, such as ear piercings.

He added: “Doing unpaid work takes time and money away from what we are paid to do and unfortunately we don’t have the resources to do it.”