GP shortages: The areas in Yorkshire that have the least and most doctors

The Royal College of GPs has warned that while there is a national shortage of GPs, some areas “face greater difficulties” recruiting much-needed staff.

The Nuffield Trust, which published the analysis, said the “stark differences” show NHS failings.

NHS Hull CCG is the area in Yorkshire that is the most stretched for GP cover and the third worst in the country.

The statistics show there are 128.6 GPs and 306,959 patients, which equates to 41.9 GPs per 100,000 people. Portsmouth was the lowest with 39.5 GPs per 100,000 patients.

Doncaster CCG and the East Riding of Yorkshire CCG were the next areas of the region to be worst affected, with figures showing they have 55.3 and 55.9 GPs per 100,000 people respectively.

North Yorkshire was the local CCG to have the most GPs. The county has 306.5 GPs and 436,882 patients making it 70.2 GPs per 100,000 people.

The Vale of York CCG has 242.7 GPs for a population of 368,835 people which is 65.8 GPs per 100,000 people.

Nuffield Trust Senior Fellow Billy Palmer said: “These disparities mean people in some areas are less able to access their family doctor than people elsewhere.

“In an NHS founded on the principle of equal treatment, such stark differences represent a serious failing.”

Prof Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “The size of the fully qualified GP workforce is falling while the number of patients continues to grow. As a result, the ratio of patients to GPs has increased significantly over recent years.

“While this is happening across the country, some regions are being affected worse than others as they face greater difficulties recruiting new GPs and other staff.”

He called on the Government to “make good on its manifesto promise of 6,000 more full-time equivalent GPs” by 2024.

He said: “GPs want to be able to consistently give their patients the care they deserve, no matter where they live in the country, but the intense workload and workforce pressures facing general practice are unsustainable.”

Leeds has 909,888 people and 544.9 GPs, so 59.9 per 100,000 people. Bradford District and Craven has 407.7 GPs, 650,290 residents and 62.7 GPs per 100,000 while Sheffield has 384 GPs for a population of 618,718 and 62.2 GPs per 100,000 people.

The Department of Health and Social Care said: “We are hugely grateful for the care GPs and staff provide and we are working hard to support and grow the workforce. There were over 1,400 more doctors working in general practice in March 2022 compared to the same time in 2019 and a record-breaking number started training as GPs last year.

“We have invested £520m to expand GP capacity during the pandemic, on top of £1.5bn until 2024 and we are making 4,000 training places available for GPs each year, helping to create an extra 50 million appointments a year.”