HALSTEAD residents have said the NHS "it takes 4 weeks minimum" to get an appointment after a top doctor revealed the East of England is one of the worst regions when it comes to GP numbers.

Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, who is the chair of the BMA's England GP Committee, has voiced concern over the low number of doctors working in the east.

According to the health expert, the region boasts just 4,895 GPs, comprising 2,142 GP partners, 1,555 salaried GPs, 55 GP retainers, 153 locums, and 1032 GPs in training.

This means the East of England, which has a population of about 6,348,098 has 7.7 GPs per 10,000 people, which is lower than the 7.8 average for England.

Dr Bramall-Stainer said: “The East of England has some of the most deprived people and the lowest GP numbers.

“It is a critical patient safety issue.”

Halstead Gazette: Waiting - Dr Katie said GPs shortages could be explained by the low rate of 7.7 GPs per 10,000 people in the East of EnglandWaiting - Dr Katie said GPs shortages could be explained by the low rate of 7.7 GPs per 10,000 people in the East of England (Image: Newsquest)

Halstead residents have reacted to the findings.

Adrian Neill said: "Shock horror! One surgery and they keep building hundreds of extra houses."

"Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work that one out."

Bee Salmon agreed and said they had "four weeks minimum" waiting time for the one doctor in their doctor's surgery.

Dr Bramall-Stainer said that although many residents feel frustrated about waiting times, they must understand there are a “limited number of GPs and a limited number of hours”.

She added: “At the minute we are training more GPs than ever before.

"But with newly qualified GPs, only half take up NHS roles – we have got to make sure we retain staff."

Halstead Gazette: Shortages - Dr Katie said low GP numbers effectively meant that across the country there's about 6 million patients who do not have GP access Shortages - Dr Katie said low GP numbers effectively meant that across the country there's about 6 million patients who do not have GP access (Image: BMA)

Dr Bramall-Stainer also explained how some people on waiting lists often go straight to a private consultant instead which is “costly”.

Survival rates for those in the East of England is also a concern, with Dr Bramall-Stainer saying “we cannot stay silent and watch this scandal”.

The BMA GP Committee and the government are now set to meet on February, 1 for crunch talks ahead of potential GP strikes. 

“If we don’t mange to negotiate a safe contract for 2024/25, this will be the third year in the row," added Dr Bramall-Stainer.

“We can’t go on the way we are. I think we might have to start asking questions that haven’t been asked in a generation.

“We want to protect the communities across the regions."

In response to this article William Guy the Director of Primary Care for NHS Mid and South Essex (MSE) Integrated Care Board (ICB) said: “We recognise the vital role that GP practice teams play and have been working hard to improve access to local services and support recruitment and retention in Essex. 

"While we continue to work to ensure services can meet local demand, we can confirm that the general practice workforce across mid and south Essex has risen significantly since data collection started."

"As of December 2023, there are over 4000 staff employed in primary care, equivalent to 3,156 full time equivalent (FTE) staff*”

For more information about the NHS MSE general practice workforce visit here.