About a third of GP practices run by partners in England have doctor vacancies they have been unable to fill for at least a year, according to a survey published today.
The British Medical Association survey is the latest to highlight the growing crisis in general practice.
More than 3,500 GP partners took part in the survey.
Some 31% said they had been unable to fill vacancies for a year while another 18% said it took at least three months to fill vacancies.
The problems were greatest across central England, with rates of 34-35% of 12 months vacancies in the East and West Midlands and in the East of England.
Some 31% of the total said they used locums to fill long-term vacancies or to ensure a full range of services to patients.
The survey also found that 44% of GPs who reported having excessive workloads had struggled to fill vacancies.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, who chairs the BMA’s GP committee, said: “Only a small number of GP practices are operating with no vacancies, while the vast majority of GP services are suffering from constant shortages of GPs.
“It is clear that the crisis is so bad that general practice is being kept afloat by the essential help of locums who are stepping in to provide day to day services to patients.
ìThese chronic shortages come despite government promises at the last election to recruit 5,000 more GPs, a pledge that has failed to materialise.
“As these figures demonstrate, those practices with long term vacancies are also those struggling with unmanageable workload, leaving many GP services struggling to provide even basic care to their community.”
* Officials have announced that a practice in Warwickshire has been closed – a month ahead of schedule.
The sudden closure of the practice in Studley was because of “unforeseen circumstances”, the South Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group said.
The CCG had previously said the practice would close at the end of the year after the partners terminated their general medical services contracts.
The CCG was urging patients to register at other practice as a matter of urgency before the Christmas holiday.
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