GP affected person numbers surge by as much as a 3rd in two years

The variety of sufferers at GP surgical procedures has risen by as much as
a 3rd in solely two years, NHS figures present.

GPs had a mean of two,187 registered sufferers on the
finish of final 12 months, a rise of 6% from 2,068 in December 2016.

In some areas the will increase have been a lot increased. In
Swale, Kent, the variety of sufferers per GP has surged 31%, from 2,716 to three,553
over two years.

Swindon and Kent’s south coast have each seen a 30% rise
whereas 23 different well being districts have had will increase of not less than 15%. These
embody Norwich, East Surrey, Southend, Blackpool, Knowsley in Merseyside and
Southwark in south London, in accordance with the information reported by the Every day Mail.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chairman of the Royal
Faculty of GPs, mentioned it's deeply regarding to see figures that present rising
affected person numbers and not using a corresponding enhance within the variety of GPs to
present excessive ranges of look after them.

“The inevitable knock-on results are hovering workload for
GPs and our groups and sufferers having to attend longer for appointments. These
figures present that in sure areas of the nation, these pressures are
notably extreme,” she added.

The figures, which exclude trainees and locums, additionally present
that the NHS misplaced nearly 900 full-time GPs between December 2016 and December
2018. Over the identical interval English surgical procedures have gained an extra 1.four
million sufferers, though a few of these will likely be duplicates.

The staffing disaster has been exacerbated by vital
numbers of docs retiring of their 50s to keep away from new tax penalties on their
pensions. They're now allowed to save lots of a most of £1m of their
retirement pots earlier than incurring costs, whereas beforehand there was no
restrict.

Well being Secretary Matt Hancock has launched a three-month
session on the NHS pension scheme.

An NHS spokesman mentioned: “GP retirements have meant GP numbers
falling, however luckily the variety of younger docs now coaching to be a GP is
at its highest ever. So over time GP numbers ought to once more develop, constructing on the
300 enhance over the previous 12 months, and this will likely be helped by a complete
answer to the pensions difficulty which has led to extra early retirements.”

The 6% rise in sufferers per GP is the equal of each
full-time household physician taking over an extra 120 sufferers.