Number of GP practices in England falls by over a thousand in under a decade as patient numbers rocket

The number of open and active GP practices in England has fallen by over a thousand in eight years - at the same time as the number of registered patients in England has risen by over 4.8 million.

The Royal College of GPs – representing over 54,000 family doctors across the UK – says the worrying figures should convince the Government to take action to ensure struggling GP practices have the funding, workforce and support they need to stay open, remaining at the heart of their local communities, close to patients’ homes.

In January 2018, there were 7,254 open active practices. As of July 2025, this figure has dropped to 6,229. While some of this decrease will be the result of mergers between two or more practices, a proportion are attributable to closures. Over a similar period, the average number of patients a qualified GP is responsible for has risen from 2,034 (Dec 2017) to 2,257 (July 2025), with a population that is becoming older, frailer and living with more multiple chronic illnesses.

The College says that offering care close to people’s homes will be key to delivering the Government’s aspiration in its 10-year Health Plan to shift more care from hospitals to the community. It warns that if the trend in loss of open active practices continues, it will make these ambitions unachievable.

One of the College’s main concerns, based on reports from patients, is that when surgeries close, they need to travel further for their appointments. This can be especially difficult for vulnerable or elderly patients – particularly if they have reduced mobility or are unable to drive - who may need treatment more routinely, therefore exacerbating health inequalities.

Practice closures also have workload implications for neighbouring surgeries, which will likely see their patient lists grow as a result, further intensifying already high demands for care.

While there are many reasons why a practice might hand back its contract, a major factor is recruitment and retention challenges - particularly of GP partners, who are responsible for the running practices - in general practice.

Numbers of GP partners have fallen by over a quarter in the past ten years, and last year a College survey found that only 25% of GPs said they were likely to consider becoming a partner in the future*¹. This is despite the findings of a report from the Institute for Government showing better patient satisfaction with surgeries that have more GP partners.*²

The College is calling for an improved GP contract, with additional ring-fenced funding for general practice to enable practices to employ GPs as appropriate, as well as greater support in the forthcoming review of the Long-Term Workforce Plan for existing partners, and GPs who want to become partners – as well as more initiatives to retain more GPs in the workforce generally.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “Closing the doors to a practice will be one of the most difficult professional decisions a GP partner will ever have to make, and that this is happening on such a scale demonstrates the impact that years of unmanageable workloads, chronic underfunding, and poor workforce planning have had on general practice.

“We know how important a local GP practice is to our patients - it doesn’t matter to them whether their surgery closes or is merged with another, because for them it may mean that the continuous care they’ve been receiving is disrupted, as staff leave. And if patients need to travel further for care, at their own cost and inconvenience, it could disincentivise them from seeking care, potentially worsening their health and widening health inequalities.

“It’s essential that patients can access care close to their homes, in their communities – it’s where patients want to receive care, and it’s the most cost-effective way of delivering care. This is what the Government wants to achieve through its 10 Year Health Plan, but if patients are having to travel further for care because their local surgery has closed, it defeats the object. Practices in deprived areas are particularly affected by GP shortages, and the improved GP contract needs to show a revised funding allocation to enable them to employ sufficient numbers of GPs.

“Key to this will be having the GP partners needed to run practices and keep them open – and enough GPs working in them. The partnership model of general practice works well for patients, and the NHS – the Darzi report made this clear. It has challenges, but these are not insurmountable, and addressing them must start with supporting GPs to become partners. We need to see a plan for this in the forthcoming review of the Long-Term Health Plan, alongside clear plans – including numbers - to address recruitment and retention issues in general practice more widely.”

Brenda Allan, Chair of the RCGP Patient and Carers Partnership Group, said: “Patients greatly value the services provided by their local GP practice - for many, their local surgery is where they receive the majority of their care. They are also aware that the Government has pledged to move more care into the community which makes this substantial drop in the number of open practices - a vital community service - all the more alarming.

“We’ve heard reports from a number of patients that the loss of their local practice has meant they’ve had to travel substantially further – at greater cost – for services they used to be able to access on their doorstep. GPs make the vast majority of NHS patient contacts, so nearly everyone will rely on their local GP at some point, so this could have serious implications for their health.

"Elderly, disabled and vulnerable patients are at most obvious risk from fewer local open active practices but younger patients and families will also be impacted. GPs are at the heart of community-based healthcare, providing early diagnosis and continuous treatment for patients. It's vital that we keep these local community services alive and that the Government supports them more and does not ignore the needs of patients."

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

1. RCGP Annual GP Voice Survey 2024, with a sample size of 2,190 respondents (PDF file, 737 KB)
2. General practice across England: Performance Tracker Local. What does patient satisfaction across England tell us about GP surgeries’ performance? (April 2025). The report found that GP partners are associated with the largest effect on patient satisfaction: one additional GP partner per practice is associated with a 1.4% increase in satisfaction. In comparison, the same number for salaried GPs and GP registrars is 0.9% and 0.3% respectively.

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.