During yesterday’s PMQs Jeremy Corbyn highlighted the amount of family doctors who are leaving the profession.
Worryingly he said that these essential medical staff are “leaving the profession in despair” at the pressures of the profession.
Mr Corbyn said that four thousand GPs “have retired early in the past five years – that’s one in ten.”
Alongside this large reduction in GP numbers, a survey also reported that almost 17 per cent of GPs have had to turn down patients booking a standard appointment.
The GP workforce has fallen 50% faster in the most deprived areas in England than in the wealthiest areas over the past decade, figures published by the government reveal, reports GP online.
An NHS England spokeswoman said: ‘With 33,600 GPs in England, this tiny survey represents less than three per cent of those GPs, and, of those, fewer than a fifth have taken this action.
‘We understand the pressures general practice is facing, which is why the NHS is investing £2.4billion extra in GP services, growing the number of new doctors entering general practice, and rolling out evening and weekend appointments over this coming year.’
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