The ratio of GPs to patients is at its lowest since 2004, according to a new analysis.

The data shows that in 2017 there were 6.19 FTE GPs per 10,000 population, compared with 6.56 per 10,000 population in 2007, according to a Royal College of GPs analysis.

The figures also reveal that there are fewer GPs than there were two years ago and the number of patient consultations is increasing every year, with family doctors’ workload rising as they deal with more complex cases.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “Our patients are living longer – that’s one of the great wonders of modern medicine – but as they do, they are increasingly living with multiple, chronic conditions, which has a massive impact on workload in general practice, both in terms of volume and complexity.

“Unfortunately, as this data shows, the GP workforce is not rising with demand – indeed, we have fewer full-time equivalent GPs delivering patient care than we had two years ago. As a result, each GP is responsible for more patients – and more elderly patients, who typically have greater and more complex health needs – every year.”

She warned that the increased pressure, combined with insufficient resources and a lack of fully qualified GPs, is “untenable” and that the profession “risks the perfect storm”.

“We know that GPs are already stressed and burning out, in many cases leaving the profession earlier than they planned to, and a shortage of GPs is the main reason why patients are waiting too long for an appointment,” continued Prof Stokes-Lampard.

“NHS England’s long-term plan for the health service has some great aspirations that promise to benefit patients – and it recognises the importance of GPs and their wider team of healthcare professionals for the sustainability of the NHS.

“But the plan will need the comprehensive workforce challenges we currently face to be solved, if we are to be able to deliver the vision.”

She called for the coming workforce strategy to explore all possible options to both recruit more GPs to the profession and to retain the existing workforce. It should also explore how to use the skills of other healthcare professionals to support general practice.

“Key to this will be looking at how to reduce escalating workload – particularly the bureaucracy and red tape that diverts GPs from patient care – to make working in general practice more sustainable and removing incentives to retire early for GPs who might not necessarily want to,” she said.

“Ultimately, we need to see NHS England’s GP Forward View, which promised an extra £2.5bn a year for general practice, delivered, in full, as soon as possible, along with guarantees that general practice will receive a significant share of the additional funding earmarked for primary and community care outlined in the NHS Long-Term Plan.”