The number of fully qualified GPs in England has plunged to its lowest level for years, according to new figures.

The number of full time equivalent fully qualified doctors fell to 27,392 last month, the lowest level in the last seven years, according to the NHS Digital data.

It represented a 1.7% decline in one year and of 77 doctors in one month – although the total number of doctors working in general practice has increased by 1.2% because of increasing numbers of trainees.

The data also shows a continued decline in the number of doctors who are GP partners – with just 16,614 having this role last month, an annual reduction of 1.8%.

The Royal College of GPs said the data also shows GPs and their staff working harder than ever – with 18% more appointments last month than three years earlier.

Royal College of GPs chair Professor Kamila Hawthorne said: “Despite GPs and our teams working ever harder, today’s workforce figures show that fully qualified, full-time equivalent GP numbers continue to fall – by 737 since 2019 . With more GPs leaving the profession than joining, we simply don’t have a large enough workforce to deliver care to our growing population with increasingly complex healthcare needs.

“General practice is the cornerstone of the health service but it is struggling. The Government must act to turn the tide on decades of underinvestment and poor workforce planning by devising and implementing a recruitment and retention strategy that goes beyond its manifesto pledge of 6,000 more GPs.

“We also need to make GP workload more manageable by cutting unnecessary red tape to allow GPs to spend more time with their patients.”

Dr Kieran Sharrock, acting chair of the British Medical Association’s GP committee in England, said: “Despite promises to recruit 5,000 – and then 6,000 – more GPs, the Government has now overseen the loss of the equivalent of more than 1,900 full-time fully-qualified GPs in England since 2015.

“That almost a quarter of this loss happened in the last 12 months alone – the biggest annual fall in almost three-and-a-half years – speaks volumes to the intense pressures that practices and staff are under. With workload demands soaring, and financial stresses on practices bearing down, alongside the impact of punitive pension rules, many GPs are having to take the difficult to decision to reduce their hours or leave altogether to protect their wellbeing.

“Rather than piling on more pressure, Government needs to show it is taking this dire workforce situation seriously and take steps to support practices, giving them the help they need to safely continue caring for patients, and in doing so encouraging more family doctors to stay in the profession when our communities need them most.”