The reasons for these long-term changes are not clear, but there have been reports of young doctors leaving the NHS to work abroad or older doctors choosing to take early retirement.
The data comes amid growing concern about the number of GPs needed to meet rising demand for appointmentswhich was higher for much of 2022 than 12 months ago.
‘One in four GP posts may be vacant in ten years’
In June, the Health Foundation think tank called for urgent action after it published a forecast showing that a quarter of England’s GP posts could be vacant in the next 10 years.
It found that the current shortage of 4,200 full-time equivalent GPs in England will rise to 10,700 by 2030-31.
The Health Foundation’s analysis suggested the government is unlikely to achieve its goal of hiring 6,000 additional GPs by 2023-24.
Meanwhile, the annual GP survey earlier this month found that satisfaction with GPs is declining and patients are delaying appointments because they find it too difficult.
About 72 percent of patients in England said they had a good experience with their GP practice in early 2022, down from 83 percent in the previous year and 82 percent in 2020.
About 55 percent of patients who needed an appointment said they had avoided getting one in the past 12 months, up from 42 percent in 2021.
More than a quarter (27 pc) had not made an appointment because they thought it was too difficult, compared to 11 pc in 2021.
And about 51 percent said they saw or spoke to someone at a time they wanted or earlier (was 59 percent), while 53 percent who wanted a same-day appointment got one (was 60 percent), and 56 percent said they they had a good experience making an appointment. appointment (from 71pc).