NHS sees first continual drop in GP numbers in 50 years

Research recently undertaken by the Nuffield Trust has revealed that the number of GPs per 100,000 people has dropped from just under 65 in 2014 to 60 in 2018. This comes at a time when demands on GPs are rising, partly due to an ageing population and changes in lifestyles.

This news follows recent reports of waiting times of up to seven weeks for routine appointments, while patients requiring urgent appointments often find they are having to queue outside GP surgeries first thing in the morning in order to guarantee being seen.

President of the Royal College of GPs, Dr Helen Stokes-Lampard, said “General practice cannot be allowed to fail. It is an absolute cornerstone of the NHS.”

The drop in numbers means the average GP now has 125 more patients than they did four years ago and it is estimated that a further 3,500 GPs are needed to get the NHS back to where it was in 2014.

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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