GP numbers have fallen by more than 600 since the government promised to increase them by 6,000, new figures show.
The numbers have consistently reduced year-on-year despite promises to tackle the increasing difficulty faced by patients trying to get an appointment.
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, acknowledged this week that the government was not on track to hit its manifesto promise of 6,000 more doctors in local surgeries by 2024 as he finds himself embroiled in a row with health unions.
Doctors’ leaders say GPs are quitting in droves because they are expected to see too many individuals, creating a vicious circle as ever fewer staff deal with rising numbers of elderly patients.
Figures released by NHS Digital yesterday showed there were 37,123 GPs working in the NHS in England in September — the equivalent of 27,699 full-time doctors as many work part-time.
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Under new counting methods, the figure is down 187 compared with 2019, but this does not account for surgeries which did not submit survey data. The British Medical Association calculates that using the previous method, which included estimates for missing practices, full-time equivalent numbers have fallen from 28,319 in 2019.
In 2015, when the number of GPs stood at 29,403, ministers promised to add 5,000 doctors over five years. Krishna Kasaraneni, a member of the BMA’s GP committee, said: “Since 2015, when ministers first began making promises about increasing GP numbers, England has lost the equivalent of more than 1,700 full-time, fully qualified GPs. For those left, the average number of patients each GP is responsible for has increased by around 300 — or 15 per cent — over the same period.”
Ministers insist that GP trainee numbers are up, pointing out that record numbers of junior doctors are opting for careers in general practice.
Kasaraneni said: “While new doctors may be choosing general practice, this is not keeping up with the high numbers of GPs leaving or reducing their hours in the face of unsustainable, unsafe workloads and rising hostility against the profession.”
Martin Marshall, head of the Royal College of GPs, said: “We need to see robust plans to keep trained, experienced GPs in the profession longer, and this needs to start by addressing ‘undoable’ workloads.”
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This week Javid admitted to MPs that the government would miss its target for 6,000 more GPs. He told the health select committee that patients were going to A&E because they could not see a GP. Unions criticised his plan last month to reward surgeries that offered more appointments. The BMA is considering balloting members on industrial action.
