Record numbers of GP surgeries closing

New research has revealed that GP surgery closures across the UK have reached an all-time high, negatively impacting more than 500,000 patients last year.

Pulse reported that a record 138 GP surgeries shut down last year, at a rate of more than two a week, with the majority of blame for the closures landing on poor recruitment and under-resourcing.

Freedom of information requests revealed that smaller surgeries were the worst affected in 2018, accounting for 86 per cent of closures, with many merging with others to ensure continuation of services. Smaller practices are those serving fewer than 5,000 patients.

The Patients Association has since warned that closures are pushing more patients towards A&E – ‘which is under severe pressure itself’.

Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: "These figures are sad but, unfortunately, not surprising. GPs and our teams are working to our absolute limits to provide safe, high-quality care, while general practice is under intense pressure, and this is resulting in some GPs leaving the profession, and in other cases forcing them to close their surgery doors.

"In some areas, practice closures are the result of surgeries merging or joining federations in order to pool their resources and provide additional services in the best interests of their patient population. But when a practice closes because resource and workforce pressures mean that it is no longer safe or sustainable to keep running, it's incredibly serious – and heart-breaking for everyone involved, especially those patients who have to travel long distances to their new surgery and get to know new teams, which is particularly difficult for the more vulnerable members of our communities and those who rely on public transport.

"The last thing that GP and our teams want to do is close their premises, and it will only be considered once every other alternative has been ruled out. Further closures must be avoided wherever possible. That's why we need to see the promises made in the NHS Long-Term Plan delivered as a matter of urgency, to ensure general practice has the people, resources, and investment we desperately need to continue providing world-class patient care, both now and in the future."