General practitioner

A general practitioner (GP) also called a family doctor or a primary care physician is a medical doctor who works outside of a hospital. They deal with all sorts of health problems. They often get to know families over a long time. This continuity is very important. In many countries they send people to see specialists. Away from towns they may have to deal with emergencies and deliver babies. They spend most of their time looking after illness in young children and old people.
In many countries general practitioners run their own small business. They are very important in rural medicine. 
England.
In December 2022 there were 36,622 permanent qualified GPs working in England - Full-time equivalent was 27,375. 69% worked between 15 and 37.5 hours a week. The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom changed the way they worked. Telephone and video was used much more. Some people were very unhappy about this and there were a lot more complaints. In Northumberland, Gosport, Wolverhampton and West Cheshire some of the GPs now work for the local hospital trust.
Numbers of GPs have been dropping for several years. Demographic change has led to “demand outstripping supply” with an increasing – and increasingly elderly – population putting immense pressure on GP services which have not expanded in the last ten years.
Spain.
In November 2022 more than 4,000 GPs in Madrid went on an ‘indefinite strike’. People had to wait a week to see a GP. They were each seeing ‘more than 50 or 60 patients’ in their working day.