The number of permanent GPs working across England has fallen year-on-year for the third month in a row, new data shows. At the end of August 2022, 26,822 full-time equivalent qualified permanent GPs were recorded.
This is down 0.5% from the same point last year, when there were 26,950 permanent GPs, according to NHS Digital. This follows a trend throughout the summer, with a 0.6% year-on-year drop in June and a 0.1% decrease in July.
In fact, the total number of doctors now is about 1,500 less than in 2015, when then-Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt promised a rise of 5,000 GPs by 2020. In September 2015, there were 29,364 full-time equivalent GPs, with around 2,500 fewer general practitioners almost seven years on.
