Some 40.3% of GPs who qualified in 2022 and 2023 did not take up substantive roles in UK general practice after qualifying, analysis of NHS data by Pulse suggests.
GPs ‘seem to disappear’ from the stats between GP Specialty Training Year 3 (GPST3) and substantive posts, journalists wrote.
Data published in January has renewed the problem of NHS’s failure to count GP locum numbers accurately.
Journalists found that of 6,129 GP registrars in ST3, last seen in 2022 and 2023, just 3,657 were seen in a substantive role by December 2024. This leaves 2,472 GPs unaccounted for in NHS statistics – a shocking 40.3%.
Although results for the 2022-23 year are shocking, analysis revealed that for ST3s last seen in 2020 and 2021, 28% were also missing in action.
Dr Richard Fieldhouse, NASGP chair, said: “To misquote Oscar Wilde, ‘To lose one GP, NHS England, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose 2,472 looks like carelessness.’ And that’s only our newly qualified colleagues.
“What about all the highly experienced ex-partners now supporting practices as GP locums? What about all the burnt out salaried GPs who are holding on in there now as GP locums. The GMC database had up to 17,836 GP locums in 2024 – all in clinical practice – and it’s still unclear whether or not they appear in NHS England data.
“We’re calling for an immediate change to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to find and fund these missing doctors, and for the scheme to be extended to sessional GPs of all ages with or without substantive experience.”