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The number of permanent GPs working across England has dropped year-on-year for the third month in a row, new figures show.

A total of 26,822 full-time equivalent qualified permanent GPs were recorded at the end of August 2022, down 0.5 per cent from 26,950 in August 2021, according to NHS Digital.

It follows a year-on-year drop of 0.6% in June and 0.1% in July.

The figures come as new Health and Social Care Secretary Therese Coffey announced plans for GPs in England to offer all patients a non-urgent appointment within two weeks and urgent slots the same day, with patients also able to compare the performance of local surgeries.

But leading GPs have slammed the move, with the Royal College of GPs saying that publishing 'league tables' of surgeries will not 'improve access or standards of care'.

Commenting on the plan, RCGP chair Professor Martin Marshall said: 'GPs share patients' frustrations when we cannot deliver the care we want to deliver in a timely way.

'But we are caring for an increasing number of patients, with increasingly complex health needs, and carrying out more consultations every month than before the pandemic – yet with fewer qualified, full-time equivalent GPs than in 2015.'

The drop in qualified permanent GPs in England in June, July and August follows a year-on-year fall of 0.4 per cent at the end of March.

The figures suggest the start of a possible trend, though more data is needed to confirm if the numbers are on a clear downwards path.

GP workforce statistics can fluctuate month to month, which is why year-on-year comparisons are a more reliable measure of long-term change.

The latest figures also show the proportion of GPs in England working full-time at local surgeries continues to be at its lowest level since current records began nearly seven years ago.

Fewer than one in four (23 per cent) qualified permanent GPs worked at least 37.5 hours a week in August 2022, while nearly seven in 10 (69 per cent) worked between 15 and 37.5 hours.

There is no equivalent monthly data for August 2021, but quarterly figures show the proportion of GPs working full-time stood at a third (33 per cent) in September 2015.

All statistics are based on the number of full-time equivalent posts in the GP workforce, and do not include trainees or locums.

Separate figures published on Thursday by NHS Digital show the number of GP practices across England has fallen by 15 per cent in the last seven years, down from 7,623 in September 2015 to 6,459 in August this year.

This could include smaller practices merging to form bigger surgeries, so might not mean that patients are losing access to services.

But the number of full-time equivalent qualified permanent GPs per 100,000 patients has dropped over the same period from 50 to 43, suggesting GPs have more patients to look after.

Meanwhile, the number of qualified permanent GPs from outside the UK and European Economic Area (EEA) based on headcount stood at 5,700 in August 2022, up by 8 per cent from 5,293 in August 2021.

This compares with a rise of 4 per cent for GPs from within the EEA, up from 1,331 to 1,386, and just 2 per cent for GPs from the UK, up from 25,950 to 26,539.