Another 700 GP surgeries could close

MORE than 700 GP surgeries could close within four years if trends continue.

Around one in ten practices in England have been lost over the last six years, official figures reveal. A shortage of GPs, as well as a lack of investment, has been blamed for the crisis, which has already seen 1.5million patients forced to find new doctors.

Data from NHS Digital shows the situation is worse than previously feared, with only 7,361 practices last year – a reduction of 166.

The British Medical Association made the latest projections based on the rate of closures over the last six years. It predicts millions more patients will have to find new practices as between 618 and 777 practices will shut between now and 2022.

Dr Richard Vautrey, the union’s GP committee chairman, said: ‘We have seen the devastating effect of practice closures over the last few years, with more than a million patients displaced since 2013, and now this analysis paints an even bleaker picture for the future.’

In Plymouth, ten out of 52 GP surgeries have closed in the last three years, leaving approximately 3 ,000 patients displaced. Elsewhere, Brighton has lost nine out of surgeries in four years, affecting 35,000 patients. NHS England said an extra £2. billion will be going into general practice each year by 2021.