Shortages and inequalities in general practice staffing are disproportionately affecting deprived areas in England, new research is showing.

While demand for primary care services has been increasing, staff numbers have not kept up with demand, explain Dr John Ford of the University of Cambridge, UK, and colleagues. They add that the gap between the growing demand for services and sufficient staff is widening, and the number of GPs relative to the size of population has been decreasing since 2009.

Reporting in BJGP Open today, they outline their study of inequalities in general practice, including the proportion of staff in roles such as physician associate, pharmacist, paramedic, and other groups.They analysed General Practice Workforce datasets from 2015 to 2020 in England. This showed that fewer GPs, total ‘direct patient care’ staff, and paramedics per 10,000 patients were employed in more deprived areas of England. Meanwhile, more physician associates and pharmacists per 10,000 patients were employed in more deprived areas.

“With the exception of total direct patient care staff, these observed inequalities widened overtime,” the authors report. “Significant workforce inequalities exist and are even increasing for several key general practice roles, with workforce shortages disproportionately affecting more deprived areas. Policy solutions are urgently needed to ensure an equitably distributed workforce and reduce health inequities.”

Dr Ford states: “People who live in disadvantaged regions of England are not only more likely to have long-term health problems but are likely to find it even more difficult to see a GP and experience worse care when they see a GP. There may be some compensation due to increasing number of other health professionals, which may partially alleviate the undersupply of GPs in more socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. But this is not a like-for-like replacement and it is unlikely to be enough.”