NHS Confederation responds to the latest GP appointments and GP workforce statistics
Responding to the latest GP appointments and GP workforce statistics, Ruth Rankine, director of primary care at the NHS Confederation said:
“With over 31 million appointments delivered in September 2023, 1.5m every day, general practice continues to work hard to deliver patient care in the midst of current challenges. This is nearly 3m more appointments than August 2023 and a 9% increase on September 2022, with the overwhelming majority – 71% - of these delivered face to face.
“We are also seeing positive steps in terms of staffing; there are 5.4% more direct patient care staff than this time last year. Whilst the number of full-time equivalent GPs is up slightly, we are still a long way off reaching the government’s pledge of 6000 more GPs.
“General practice is the bedrock of the NHS which continues to deliver for patients and with the right level of investment in workforce, technology and estates will be able to transform to do more to keep people well and out of hospital. That is why our members want to see more investment and greater flexibility in the 2024/25 contract so they can design and deliver services that truly meet the needs of their population.”
About us
We are the membership organisation that brings together, supports and speaks for the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The members we represent employ 1.5 million staff, care for more than 1 million patients a day and control £150 billion of public expenditure. We promote collaboration and partnership working as the key to improving population health, delivering high-quality care and reducing health inequalities.
