GP shortages leave one for 2,500 patients in some areas

GP SHORTAGES have left some areas with half as many doctors as others, analysis reveals.

The research shows Portsmouth, Brighton and parts of Essex among the parts of the country with the least doctors – with just one GP per 2,500 patients in some areas.

Analysis from the Nuffield Trust think tank shows practices in the south are among the most overloaded.

Nine in 10 of the areas with the lowest ratio of GPS to patients are in the south.

GPS in some parts of the country are each responsible for more than 2,500 patients, while in other regions GPS care on average for 1,250 patients each.

Dennis Reed, from Silver Voices, which campaigns for the over-60s, said: “It is getting harder and harder for people to get decent access to a GP. There are parts of the country turning into deserts, especially for those who have moved to new areas, and are struggling to find a practice who will take them.”

He urged health officials to do more to send GPS to under-doctored areas, describing the situation as “anarchy”.

The detailed analysis of NHS Digital data shows that in Portsmouth there are 39.5 GPS caring for every 100,000 people – around one doctor for every 2,500 patients. People in Thurrock, Essex, have 40.3 family doctors per 100,000 people in the area and in Hull, there are 41.9 per 100,000. Brighton and Hove has 44 GPS for every 100,000 people, with 45.2 for NHS Kent and Medway.

Other struggling areas include Basildon and Brentwood, Essex, north-west London, Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes, north-east Essex, Berkshire West and north-east London. All have fewer than 50 GPS per 100,000 people.

By contrast, the Wirral has 80.7 GPS looking after every 100,000 people and in Liverpool there are 78.2.

Billy Palmer, senior fellow at the Nuffield Trust, said: “These disparities mean people in some areas are less able to access their family doctor than people elsewhere. Such stark differences represent a serious failing.”

Prof Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal College of GPS, said “Some regions are being affected more than others as they face greater difficulties recruiting new GPS and other staff.e.

A Department of Health spokesman said: “There were over 1,400 more doctors working in general practice in March 2022 compared to the same time in 2019 and a record-breaking number started training as GPS last year.”