GP surgery closures hit 350,000 patients in year

Around 350,000 patients have lost their GP in the past year, following the closure of almost 100 surgeries, research suggests.

Around one in five closures was due to branches merging, but many were due to practices closing altogether.

Data obtained by Pulse show 99 GP surgeries closed across the UK last year. The magazine estimates that 350,000 patients were forced to move to a new surgery.

A spokesman for NHS England said: “While this represents a very small proportion of practices, in some cases surgeries have merged with a nearby practice and in other cases a partner may have retired.”