Pressure on health service: Northern Ireland has 317 GP practices to look after more than two million registered patients

During the same 10 years period the number of GPs has grown by almost a quarter though a local GP who is a representative on the British Medical Association says the closure of practices outweighs the increase in GP headcount.

The annual statistics, which were published today by General Medical Services for Northern Ireland, showed that there were 317 active GP practices in Northern Ireland as of March 31, 2023 – a fall of more than 9% compared to the 350 active in 2014. The Western Trust showed the the largest proportionate decrease (16%) while the smallest was in the Northern Trust area (5%).

As the number of practices has decreased, the average number of registered patients per practice has increased, by around 17%, from 5,500 to 6,439 in the same time period.

The report found that 2,041,000 individuals in Northern Ireland are registered with a GP practice as of March 31.

Commenting on the statistics, Dr Alan Stout, BMA NI GP committee chair, said: “Today’s figures give clear evidence of the huge pressure on GP services.

"There is a steadily growing population in Northern Ireland, but there are less practices to meet this need. Add to this the changing demography, the ageing population and the increasing complexity of patients being seen in primary care and the challenge is obvious.

“The increase in GP headcount gives a hint of solution but in reality has resulted in less clinical sessions mainly because of the pressures. We must do everything to try to retain and enhance our workforce.”

The number of GPs – excluding locums – has increased by almost 23% to 1,448 since 2014. Of these, six in ten are female, a notable shift in gender profile since 2014 when the majority (54%) were male.

GMS said that it is important to note that figures presented for GPs are headcount rather than full-time equivalent so take no account of differences in hours worked or changes to practitioner working patterns over time.