General practice under strain as workforce declines and demand rises, according to a recent study.

General practice under strain as workforce declines and demand rises, according to a recent study: General practice in England is under severe and growing pressure due to a long-term decline in GP numbers, increasing patient demand, and changing work patterns. The British Medical Association (BMA) reports that as of May 2025, there were 28,250 ‘full-time equivalent’ (FTE) fully qualified GPs in England. This represents a net loss of 1,115 fully qualified FTE GPs since September 2015, and despite a modest recovery of 600 fully qualified FTE GPs in the last 12 months, the demands on this service show no sign of diminishing.

 

The latest statistics provided by the BMA show that the situation is especially acute among GP partners, whose numbers have fallen by 6,170 (FTEs) since 2015. In the past year alone, 555 FTE GP partners were lost. Meanwhile, demand for GP services continues to climb. The number of registered patients reached a record high of 63.79 million in May 2025, an increase of 6.89 million since 2015. As a result, the average full-time GP now cares for 2,258 patients, 320 more than in 2015, a 16.5% increase.

 

According to the BMA, also contributing to the strain on the service is a decline in the number of GPs working full-time. Their figures show that since 2017, there has been a consistent decline in the number of GPs working full-time and a greater shift toward part-time work and flexible arrangements. Many GPs are opting for reduced hours to manage stress, burnout, and work-life balance. However, according to the BMA, “part-time” often involves working unpaid hours to meet patient and administrative demands. A 2021 BMA survey revealed that 50% of GPs planned to cut their hours after the pandemic, and 42% aimed to work more flexibly or remotely.

 

Despite the shrinking GP workforce, appointment levels remain extremely high. In the last 12months, 368 million appointments were made, with 161.2 million overseen by GPs. And of the 29 million appointments made in May 2025 alone, nearly half (44.6%) of these appointments were delivered by a GP, and nearly two-thirds (63.5%) of these appointments were face-to-face. 

 

The BMA forecasts that as the demands on general practice increase, the ongoing losses in this sector are likely to persist without government intervention. 

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