One in five GPs nearing retirement in some areas as Government’s 10 year plan risks “not touching the sides”

EMBARGO: 00.01 Friday 4 July 

Thousands of GPs are nearing retirement age with some areas seeing close to a quarter aged over 55, research by the House of Commons Library commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

The party has said that the Government’s 10 year NHS plan risks “not touching the sides”.

The Government’s 10 year plan for the NHS includes the recruitment of thousands more GPs in the coming years but the analysis shows that this may not be enough to replace the number of GPs set to retire over the next decade.

The data shows that 5,717 GPs are aged over 55 at the end of 2024/25 with that number having risen by 150 since March 2023. It represents around one in seven of the full time equivalent GPs in England, including trainees.

The analysis also found that in some areas almost one in four GPs are approaching retirement. In North West London and Mid and South Essex, 24% of the GP workforce is aged over 55, the highest rates in the country. They were followed by North East London on 21%. Overall, 17 of the 42 Integrated Care Boards had seen a rise in the proportion of GPs nearing retirement age.

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to boost GP numbers by 8,000 through incentivising more experienced GPs and nurses to return, including more opportunities for junior doctors and increasing training facilities.

This would be geared towards giving patients a legal right to see their GP within seven days or 24-hours if in urgent need.

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said:

“The Government’s plans for GP recruitment risk not touching the sides in the face of this retirement ticking time bomb. With an ageing population and many GP practices already at breaking point these plans could simply be treading water rather than delivering the change that people are desperately crying out for.

“Botched IT roll outs under the Conservatives have dashed people’s faith in the Government’s ability to actually deliver on these kinds of projects and Labour has provided little detail on how they can actually make this happen.

“These plans also risk putting up barriers to digitally-excluded older and vulnerable people accessing the health care they need, if there is no additional appropriate support made available to them.

“By plonking the social care crisis in the too hard basket once again, this is not a plan to save the NHS, instead it is the most expensive sticking plaster in history.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The research can be found here. (Source: NHS Digital, General Practice Workforce, Individual level files).

The total number of FTE GPs and trainees in England can be found here.