The Foundation for Health think tank found that the current shortage of 4,200 equivalent full-time doctors in England is set to rise to 10,700 by 2030-31. It was reported last month that GPs are being offered more than £1,000 for a day’s work as a doctor as “desperate” surgeries scramble to cover staff shortages. Previous Pulse surveys identified around 800 GP surgery closures. However, these include cases where they have been replaced by another surgery in the same postcode.
The closures are ‘deeply worrying’
Jaimie Kaffash, the editor of Pulse, said: “Even when practices are replaced by more modern facilities elsewhere, it still has an effect, especially for vulnerable patients who may be inconvenienced and often lose the continuity of care they had before the closure. “Our research clearly shows that surgeries that close tend to do so as a result of the pressures facing all GP practices. “In many cases, it is triggered by a single doctor resigning and a lack of replacement doctors, which means the workload for the remaining GPs becomes unsustainable. “We call on all NHS managers and health ministers to prioritize supporting general practice with concrete measures and funding that does not come with extra workload.” Dr David Wrigley, vice-chairman of the GP committee of the British Medical Association of England, said: “People having access to their local practice is essential to ensure their health needs are met and it is deeply worrying that so many see their practice closes. “Losing your GP practice and moving to another means you are missing out on the vital continuum of care that keeps people well, improves health outcomes and makes general practice the bedrock of the UK’s NHS. “For smaller practices, already on the cutting edge of the general practice workforce crisis, the loss of just one doctor has the potential to be devastating to a community.”
Promise of more dates
An NHS spokesman said: “These figures show that only around 20 GP practices have closed in the last year, which is a tiny fraction of the 6,485 practices providing care to patients. “The NHS has invested record sums in general practice this year, alongside staff numbers increasing by 18,000 since 2019, well above the government’s target.” A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said almost 1,500 more doctors were working in general practice from June 2022, compared to the same month in 2019. “We have invested £520m to expand GP capacity during the pandemic, up to £1.5bn by 2024, and are making 4,000 GP training places available every year to help create an extra 50m appointment a year,” said the spokesman.
