Salaried GP numbers in England now surpass GP locum numbers. In 2015, the salaried GP workforce was just 70% of the size of the GP locum workforce; in 2024, it was 104%.
Using the GMC’s methodology of estimating the number of GP locums (by subtracting the number of salaried GPs and partners from the GMC’s register of practising GPs), the number of GP locums fell from 21,091 in 2023 to 17,836 in 2024 – an estimated fall of 3,255 in a single year.
NHS workforce figures show the number of salaried GPs grew from 16,369 to 18,557 between 2023 and 2024. Salaried GP numbers have leapt from just 10,270 in December 2015 to the current total – a rise of 81% in 10 years.
The total number of GP locums in England peaked in 2023 at 21,091, whereas the number of salaried GPs has risen steadily since 2015.
These new figures have emerged at a time when GPs face a double workforce crisis: GP partners struggle to fund the GP vacancies they need, and sessional GPs struggle to find both salaried and locum roles.
Almost 40% of GPs see themselves leaving UK general practice in the next five years, according to a new survey of 747 by Pulse.
The number of GMC fully qualified and licensed GPs fell from 57,064 in 2023 to 55,525 just a year later, according to the GMC’s Data Explorer tool.
Dr Richard Fieldhouse, NASGP chair, spoke to Pulse last summer about the growth of the sessional workforce and how this affects the market.
Reflecting on the new figures, he said: “Looking at these data, whilst it’s rather terrifying to see a stubbornly straight decline in the number of GP partners, there is a glimmer of hope that may suggest that is being partly offset by a small relative increase in the number of salaried GPs.
“But the sudden decline in GP locums tells a different story which, along with the overall number of practising GPs in decline compared to 12 months ago, suggests England may have lost around 2,000 GPs over the last year or so.
“Should NHS England ever receive the significant funding from government it urgently needs to manage more patients within the community, it may already have lost too many GPs to safely provide the care it needs to deliver.”
Note: This story was updated on Thursday 6 Feb to reflect that the estimated drop in GP locums was 3,255, not 2,000 as previously stated. This drop occurred 2023 to 2024. The headline and copy was updated to reflect these changes.