Doctors call for funding reform to tackle health disparities across England

GP practices in areas with the highest levels of deprivation have on average 300 more patients per GP than those in more affluent areas. Photograph: Stephen Barnes/Medical/Alamy

Ministers must “radically” reform the way GP funding is allocated across the country because it results in the poorest areas receiving inadequate healthcare, family doctors have warned.

The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) wrote in an open letter that the Carr-Hill formula, which has been used to allocated core GP funding since 2004, is outdated as it does not equitably distribute funds and as a result has contributed to the widening of health inequalities across the country.