England's general practice system is facing a critical safety crisis as a dangerous shortage of family doctors leaves millions of patients at risk, according to the nation's leading GP.
Workforce Crisis Reaches Breaking Point
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP), has issued a stark warning that surgeries can no longer guarantee safe care due to severe workforce shortages. She revealed that exhausted GPs are working "completely unsafe hours" because practices lack the core funding to recruit new staff or replace those leaving the profession.
"GPs will always push themselves to do what's best for our patients, but we can't go on like this," Hawthorne stated. "GP workload pressures are so pronounced that many of our members are telling us they are worried they can't guarantee safe care when there aren't enough GPs to keep up."
Soaring Patient Numbers and Funding Crisis
The scale of the problem has reached unprecedented levels. A fully qualified full-time GP in England is now responsible for 2,241 patients on average, representing a dramatic increase of 304 patients each (16%) over the past decade.
Hawthorne explained: "The number of patients per GP is rising higher and higher, while our clinical work has become more complex with our ageing population. We don't have the workforce to manage this safely or give the continuity of care that we know benefits patients."
Recent statistics reveal the enormous pressure on the system. In the 12 months to September 2025, a record 386 million consultations were delivered in England alone - equivalent to more than a million daily and 86 million more than the total in 2019.
Funding Barriers Prevent Recruitment
A RCGP survey of GP practice managers uncovered alarming recruitment challenges. The research found that 61% of practices need to hire at least another GP in the next 12 months to cope with patient demand. However, 92% of those reported that a lack of core funding prevents them from doing so.
One anonymous practice manager highlighted the impossible situation: "Without additional funding, there is nothing we can do to resolve the situation. In our area the issue used to be a lack of people; now we have people available and no money to recruit with."
The crisis has prompted more than 8,000 GPs to sign a letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, urging immediate action to train, recruit and retain more doctors to restore patient safety.
Government Response and Ongoing Disputes
The Department of Health and Social Care responded by stating it was "grateful" to GPs for their "crucial work" and noted they had placed general practice "at the heart of our 10-year health plan." A spokesperson highlighted that the government had recruited 2,500 GPs, scrapped half of GP targets to reduce red tape, and provided an extra £1.1 billion in funding.
However, Hawthorne countered that the extra funding had been undermined by the government's decision to increase national insurance contributions. The RCGP survey found that 83% of practice managers cited the NICs rise as a key factor preventing them from hiring doctors.
Hawthorne emphasised the need for concrete action: "We need more GPs - thousands more - but practices also need to be funded properly to hire them. A plan without numbers isn't a plan at all, and while the government has made a number of promising commitments, we need a clear roadmap out of this crisis."
The warning comes amid growing tensions between doctors and the government, with hospital consultants preparing to join junior doctors in strike action over pay disputes.
