GP practices with 2-3 GPs have lowest expenses, figures show

According to data from NHS Digital, non-dispensing, GMS-contracted practices with two-three GPs have the lowest level of expenses per registered patient.

The analysis examined GP income and tax records from 2013-14 practice level, and found that such practices had average expenses of £76.18 per patient.

In comparison, the practices with the highest level of expenses were found at single-handed dispensing, PMS-contracted practices, with average costs of £189.71 per patient.

The analysis was commissioned by NHS England to inform its ongoing review into the Car-Hill allocations formula, which is used to calculate how much funding individual practices should receive.

The figures also identified a discrepancy in costs of practices located in rural and urban areas. Rural non-dispensing practices had expenses of £91.90 per patient, compared to urban counterparts with just £84.63 per patient.

Commenting on the analysis, NHS Digital advised that the figures 'should be treated with an appropriate degree of caution' due to 'uncertainty associated with sample data' retrieved from GP census information already published.