What is the GP to patient ratio in your area?
In England, there are on average 1,892 registered patients for every full-time equivalent general practitioner (GP).
Data from June 2020, published by the NHS, shows the GP to patient ratio varies depending on the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). Some areas are struggling more than others.
In the South East, East of England and Greater London, the average number of registered patients per GP is higher than in the rest of England.
NHS Thurrock is on top of the list with 2,715 patients per GP. In this area, 67 GPs are facing 182,153 registered patients.
Dr Samara Afzal, a GP from the Netherton Health Centre in Dudley (1,724 patients per GP), emphasises that many of those registered patients are young and healthy and therefore don’t consult the GP very often.
On the other hand, those who have complicated medical problems or cancer will want to see their regular GP and sometimes can struggle to get an appointment, she says.
“With my previous surgery it could take three to four weeks for patients to get an appointment and that is a long time to wait if you have cancer, mental health issues and complicated medical problems.”
How is your area doing?
Explore what the numbers in your area are.
What the NHS plans to do
Since August 2018, more than one million new patients have registered with a GP. At the same time, the number of GPs has shrunk.
According to the NHS, funding to recruit more healthcare professionals is in place.
“Securing additional GP capacity is a critical need for many practices yet at the same time there is also a pool of qualified GPs looking for employment. This includes locums who are interested in more secure employment, retired doctors who have offered to return to the workforce, and newly qualified GPs who graduated from training this August.”
Additional workforce will not only improve the quality of their services, but also aim to reduce the workload of GPs.
“Additional team members will support us to improve working lives for primary care professionals and to deal with the backlog of unmet health needs arising during the pandemic.”
