NHS faces ‘tipping point’ in England where most appointments will not be with GPs

Rapidly falling number of family doctors will harm continuity and quality' of care according to new research

The NHS in England is heading towards a tipping point" after which GPs will no longer provide the majority of appointments because their numbers are falling so fast.

That is the conclusion of an extensive piece of new research that also shows one in five surgeries has shut and the number of patients each family doctor looks after has soared over the last decade.

1,625 GP surgeries closed between 2013 and 2023 - a fall of 20% or 178 a year - reducing the total number from 8,044 to 6,419.

The average number of patients on each surgery's books rose by 40% - or 291 a year - over the same period, from 6,967 to 9,724.

Total patient numbers have grown from 56 million to 62.4 million.

Although the overall number of GPs working in the NHS rose, after taking changes in working hours into account those working the equivalent of full-time fell from 27,948 to 27,321.