New data shows there are not enough practice staff to meet “escalating” patient need, GP leaders have warned.

GPs carried out more than 31 million appointments in March, according to the latest GP data from NHS Digital. The Appointments in general practice report says 70.1% of March’s appointments were face to face – up from 69.9% in February – and 43.2% were on the same day as they were booked, a little under February’s figures at 44%.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said the figures showed that GPs and their teams, which were pushed “to crisis point” last winter, were going “above and beyond” to ensure patients receive care, despite intense workload and workforce pressures.

“More than 31.5 million patient consultations were delivered by GPs and our teams in March – 6.5% more than the same month in 2019 – with more than 43% on the same day they were booked,” she said.
“GP teams are clearly trying their absolute best but they are doing so with 824 fewer fully qualified, full-time equivalent GPs than in December 2019. Unfortunately, there are no quick fixes for problems which are decades in the making – we simply do not have enough GPs or other members of the practice team to meet escalating patient need for our care and services.

“Practices that serve communities with the greatest health needs, such as elderly populations and populations with health inequalities are particularly over-stretched. In some areas a qualified GP is now responsible for more than 2,500 patients. The forthcoming primary care recovery plan and long-awaited NHS workforce plan will be key opportunities to do this.”

She urged the government to introduce a new plan that would go beyond the target of 6,000 more GPs it pledged in its election manifesto, as well as significant investment in GP practices and IT systems to make it easier for patients to access care.

Ruth Rankine, director of primary care at the NHS Confederation, said practice numbers are continuing to decline and “the achievements of GP practices are only possible through the existing workforce working harder than ever, which is not sustainable. We therefore need the primary care recovery plan as a matter of urgency to understand the support that primary care will get to continue to deliver for their patients and retain the valuable workforce we already have,” she added.

The report also showed that 90.7% of all appointments were attended in March 2023 and 47.6% of all appointments were carried out by a GP and 20.9% were carried out by nurses. The Department of Health meanwhile pointed to an increase of 440 doctors working in general practice and a promise to increase by the primary care workforce by 26,000 within the year. It also pointed to the 4,032 doctors who accepted GP training places last year.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Today’s figures demonstrate the clear progress being made to train and recruit record numbers of staff across the NHS and in primary care.”