GP surgery closures in UK 'hit all-time high' in 2018

GP surgery closures in UK 'hit all-time high' in 2018 Research, disputed by NHS, shows 138 practices shut with smaller surgeries worst hit

GP surgery closures across the UK have reached an all-time high, affecting an estimated half a million patients last year, research has found. An investigation by the medical website Pulse found 138 doctors’ premises shut their doors in 2018, compared with 18 in 2013.

GPs said under-resourcing and recruitment difficulties were forcing surgeries to close. They said many smaller practices were merging with others to survive, which allowed them to avoid having to disperse their patient list to other practices much further away. The Guardian

See also:

• Revealed: more surgeries than ever closed last year Pulse
• Urgent action needed to prevent more 'heart-breaking' practice closures, says College Royal College of General Practitioners
• GP retention just as vital as recruitment, says RCGP responding to latest workforce figures Royal College of General Practitioners
• NHS has lost 700 GPs in three years The Daily Mail
• Record 138 surgeries closed down last year as more GPs take early retirement or change carer The Daily Mail
• The diary of a GP driven to despair The Daily Mail
• 2018 saw highest ever number of GP practice closures, with small local surgeries worst affected The Daily Telegraph
• Over half a million patients forced to swap GP surgeries after closures last year, investigation finds The Independent