GP closures could leave 5 million people without access to local practice

Total of 201 practices close in the past year and another 750 may follow

Of the 298 GPs who were polled, 10 per cent believed their surgery would close within the next year (Getty)

More than five million patients could be left looking for new GP’s after ten per cent of practices in England claimed they were at risk of closing within the next year.

Closures are already at record highs with underfunding and staffing problems given as the main reasons why.

A total of 201 practices have closed in the past year and another 750 may follow suit in the coming months, according to GP Online magazine.

The magazine polled 298 GPs and found that 10 per cent believed their surgery would close within the next year and a total of 41 per cent said they were aware that a neighbouring practice was at risk of closure, according to the Daily Mail.

BMA GP committee deputy chair, Dr Richard Vautrey, said that although resources were available they are not being spent on where they are needed.

“These findings echo those of those of the BMA, which suggest that more and more practices are set to close and more and more patients are set to lose their local GP service,” Dr Vautrey said.

“Commitments by NHS England of funding to bail out hospital trusts, or to provide appointments at weekends, or invest millions of pounds for IT developments demonstrates that resources are available, but they are not yet being spent where it they are most needed - core general practice.”

The Independent was unable to reach the Department of Health for a comment.