No new GP practices for Barnsley – and just one for Rotherham – despite 2,000 patients per doctor

The British Medical Association says general practice is in ‘crisis’, with GPs facing unmanageable workloads in the face of a vast backlog of care caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The average number of patients each fully qualified GP is responsible for is 2,282 in Rotherham and 2,286 in Barnsley, figures show.

This has increased since 2016 by 201 patients per GP in Barnsley, and 457 in Rotherham.

There are now just 0.44 fully qualified GPs per 1,000 patients in England – down from 0.52 in 2015.

With each borough having set targets for much-needed new housing in its local plan – 21,000 in Barnsley and 17,000 in Rotherham – the South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) says no new GP surgeries are planned in Barnsley, and one is currently being built to serve the new Waverley development in Rotherham.

Land for the Waverley GP practice has been provided by the developer, and the practice is funded by the NHS.

In their manifesto in 2019, the Conservative government set out a housing target of 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s, in a bid to tackle the housing crisis.

Councils set out their local plans accordingly, allocating areas for housing and employment uses.

With each planning application for new homes, councils consult the ICB and take into account feedback of any potential impacts on the local health services.

The ICB says that it works with local councils to ‘explore opportunities to use any developer funding to improve estate and capacity in general practice’.

It adds that the number of GPs ‘may be increased’ as practice registered patient numbers and in turn funding increase.

According to the ICB, there are currently no new GP practices planned in Barnsley, but the board will ‘continually explore opportunities to improve or extend premises where appropriate.’.

Dr David Crichton, chief medical officer at NHS South Yorkshire, said: “Our primary care teams receive planning applications for new housing developments and we look to work closely with our GP practices and other partners to provide feedback to our local authorities on the potential impact for health services in the area. Where appropriate, we work with our local councils to explore opportunities to use any developer funding to improve estate and capacity in general practice.

“Access to primary care services is an important element of healthcare provision in the NHS. In line with the NHS long-term workforce plan, we have an expansion of many different clinical professionals supporting our patients in GP practices and our workforce continues to diversify and grow to help people access the best service to meet their healthcare needs.”