2.5m patients face GP practice closure

The Royal College of GPs has warned that over 2.5 million patients across England may see their GP practice close in the next five years because of poor expected GP retention.

GPs have argued that the news would cause a ‘catastrophic’ effect on patient care and urged the government to take drastic action to address the workload pressures that are making a career in general practice untenable. This call includes initiatives to be implemented to increase retention of the GP workforce.

Without urgent investment, the RCGP fears that 762 practices across the UK could close over the next five years because they are relying on a workforce where three-quarters of GPs are aged over 55 and therefore approaching retirement age. It is therefore calling for an additional £2.5 billion a year for general practice by 2020/21 as part of a 'radical overhaul' of NHS England's GP Forward View, to be funded as part of the forthcoming long-term plan for the NHS, announced by the Prime Minister earlier this year.

Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the RCGP, said "These new figures paint an extremely bleak picture of the scale of the GP workforce crisis right across the UK. The harsh reality is that fantastic, caring GPs are burning out, working in conditions that are unsafe for their own health and that of their patients. Many GPs are bringing forward their retirement plans because the pressures they are working under are untenable. It is a massive loss to the profession – and patients - to lose our most experienced doctors prematurely when they have huge amounts of knowledge and skill. If these GPs do leave, and these practices do close, it will have a catastrophic impact on our profession and the patient care we are able to provide. We have more GPs in training than ever before, but if we have more GPs leaving than entering the profession, we're fighting a losing battle.

"We urgently need to see existing promises of investment for general practice, 5,000 more GPs, and 5,000 more members of the wider practice team delivered in full in England – and for equivalent promises to be made and delivered in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. But we also need to see an additional £2.5 billion a year for general practice as part of the NHS long-term plan, to ensure that existing GPs and their teams are given the support and resources they need to deliver high-quality patient care both now and in the future."