One in three GPS in England does not work in NHS, says BMJ Study | NHS
One in three GPS in England does not work in NHS, where increasing numbers seek to move abroad or become a private contractor, and deepen patients’ difficulties in obtaining appointments.
The percentage of family doctors who, although they are qualified, do not provide care through NHS from 27 % in 2015 to 34 % last year, according to a study published in BMJ.
This means that approximately 20,000 GPS who can work in the health service “lost” and do not do so, despite the unprecedented demand for care and many government initiatives to try to increase the numbers of GP.
While a total of 58,548 GPS in England was in the record of the General Medical Council (GMC) at the end of last year, only 38,626 of them were in public practice there – a difference of 19,922.
The Patient Society said that the results were “very sad” for patients who are often left frustrated at the time it is taken to obtain a consultation with GP.
The researchers say the heavy work burden of GPS, the increase in requests from patients who face them and a large -scale frustration because they have a little time to properly care for patients behind the fatigue among family doctors who taste increasing from NHS.
“While there is a welcome rise in GP numbers on paper, this report is that one in three GPS does not work in NHS is very sad for patients who are already suffering from frustration and anxiety when trying to reach the date of GP.
“Long waiting, fragmented care and late diagnoses endangered people’s health,” said Rachel Power, CEO of the Patient Society.
The severe pressure of the family doctorate means that many newly qualified doctors do not join NHS after the ends of training or leave public training early in their career, according to researchers, who were led by Louisa Petrigro from the London College for Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The financial cost of the GPS (GPS) is enormous. The researchers say that each GP is entirely qualified for 430,540 pounds for training during university education and graduate studies.
The study says: “The gap between the licensed GPS from GMC and NHS GPS in 2024 represents an estimated investment of 8.6 billion pounds in training by employees and 13.1 billion pounds through the full -time GPS, a loss of the general practice of NHS, though [the presence of] International medical graduates. “
Issue results with The search he published last month by GMCWhich is organizing doctors in the United Kingdom. Large increases have found in recent years in the GPS number of planning either to move abroad or work in particular or completely leave the medical profession.
For example, the GPS ratio has multiplied throughout the United Kingdom who said they are likely to move abroad to practice medicine more than 10 % in 2020 to 21 % last year.
Likewise, the percentage that they said is likely to start either work in particular or increase the time they spent working as a special year of 23 % in 2019 to 29 % in 2024 – more than the direction between doctors in general, of whom 23 % said they plan for this switch.
And the percentage that has taken “difficult steps” to leave the medical profession in the entire UK, such as contacting a groom, or applying for non -clinical roles or began to retire moves, increased from 4 % in 2019 to 15 % in 2024.
The study of the official workforce data is likely to give up NHS.
The researcher added that the deepening of NHS’s GP disengagement threatens the government’s plans to transfer a lot of care from hospitals to society and create the new “neighborhood health services”.
Professor Camilla Huththorne, head of the Royal GPS (GPS), said the results reflect the fact that although the records of newly qualified doctors who started GP training in England in recent years, NHS is unable to keep family doctors means that the new recruits were “flowing into a leaked Bag”.
She said that Wes Stretting, the Minister of Health, should focus more on helping to improve the retaining of the GPS (NHS) more than expanding their numbers by renewing the next -term workforce plan in NHS.
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare was not commented directly on the results.
“We are making progress to reflect more than a decade of negligence in primary care, and more than 2000 GPS recruitment last year, with a standard saving of 1 billion pounds sterling for vital promotions of surgeries, as well as cutting the red tape so that doctors can spend more time in patient care.
“July 2025 witnessed the highest number of employees ever of the completely qualified GPS and the satisfaction of the patients with GP services.”