The number of GPs in England has been steadily declining for seven years – in spite of improved recruitment to training programmes, a government minister has admitted.

Seven years ago the government promised to increase GP numbers by 5,000 – but since then the overall number of full-time equivalent, fully trained GPs has fallen by more than 1,000, a Parliamentary answer revealed. GP organisations said the data showed how the situation in general practice is “going from bad to worse.”

According to the response from health minister Maria Caulfield, there were 29,394 full time equivalent GPs in September 2015 and by September 2020 this stood at 27,939. The latest NHS data suggests numbers stand at 27,920, she said. The Department of Health says that the increase in trainee numbers means an overall increase in doctor numbers in general practice of 1,672 in the last two years.

Reported in The Guardian, the Conservative MP who asked the question, Dr Dan Poulter, a former health minister, said: “These figures are hugely worrying because they show that GP numbers in England have been falling, despite ministerial pledges to increase them. GPs’ relentless workloads are clearly a major factor here. Patients and the entire NHS desperately need more family doctors, in order to reduce waiting times and ensure people who are ill get care, and referral on to hospital if needed, as soon as possible.”

Dr Poulter added: “As an immediate step, the pension penalties that see many GPs, hospital doctors and other healthcare professionals penalised simply for working should be scrapped to avoid many deciding that early retirement is the best option. In addition, as has been done successfully in Australia, incentives and relocation support packages need to be put in place to attract GPs to work in parts of the country where there are acute shortages.”

Royal College of GPs’ chair Professor Martin Marshall said: “Good progress is being made recruiting more doctors into general practice but, if more GPs are leaving the profession than entering it, we’re fighting a losing battle.”

Dr Kieran Sharrock, deputy chair of the British Medical Association GP committee, told the paper: “Despite repeated pledges from government to boost the workforce by thousands, it’s going completely the wrong way. As numbers fall, remaining GPs are forced to stretch themselves even more thinly, and this of course impacts access for patients and the safety of care provided.”

A Department of Health spokesperson said: “We are committed to growing the general practice workforce to ensure everyone receives the care they need and there has been an increase of more than 1,600 doctors in general practice over the past two years. To boost recruitment, we have increased the number of GP training places and in 2021/22 we saw the highest ever number of doctors accepting a place on GP training – a record-breaking 4,000 trainees, up from 2,671 in 2014.”