Nearly 600 practices could close in the next four years amid a growing shortage of GPs, it was claimed yesterday.

Across the UK the shortfall of doctors in general practice will reach nearly 20,000, according to the Royal College of GPs.

The college promised a new campaign to recruit a generation of GPs from students and foundation doctors.

It claims that doctors are deterred by the “myth” put out by TV programmes that only hospital settings offer doctors an “exciting and challenging” role.

According to its predictions, without improved recruitment, England will have a deficit of 8,371 GPs in 2020 and Scotland a shortage of 830.

Wales will be 424 GPs short and Northern Ireland will be 316 GPs short.

College chair Dr Maureen Baker said: “It is imperative that we recruit huge numbers of medical students and foundation doctors into general practice in order to keep the NHS on its feet. If we fail, there will be too few GPs to go round, practices will close, and patient safety in general practice will clearly be at risk.

“Despite the fact that general practice is critical to the success of the NHS there is a bizarre misconception in certain parts of the medical world that GPs merely treat coughs and colds.”

She added: “TV programmes, like Holby City and Casualty, might like to show hospitals as the only exciting places to be a doctor but the reality is very much different. In fact, as NHS England says: ‘There is arguably no more important job in modern Britain than that of the family doctor’.

“As time progresses, a career as a GP will become more and more intellectually and medically challenging, diverse and fulfilling. GPs will have portfolio careers heading multi-disciplinary teams, leading work in areas from geriatrics to neurology, running ‘in-reach’ to hospitals and ‘outreach’ to patients’ homes.”