THE most oversubscribed GP surgeries in Malvern have been revealed.

Using NHS Digital data, we looked at the number of patients registered at the district’s GP surgeries as of March 2022.

Comparing this with the overall number of GPs currently practising, we can see the number of patients per doctor in the Malvern Hills.

According to the data, there are 51,802 patients currently registered to a GP surgery in and around Malvern

There are also 38 full-time GPs currently working in the latest data, published in January.

This means the average number of patients per GP in the city's medical practices is 1,363

There were three surgeries where the number of patients per GP was higher than the local average.

These were:

  • New Court Surgery, Pickersleigh Road: 7 GPs / 9,814 patients (1,402 per GP)
  • Whiteacres Medical Centre: 8 GPs / 11,000 patients (1,375 per GP)
  • Malvern Health Centre: 10 GPs / 14,000 patients (1,400 per GP)

The nationwide average for patients per GP in 2019 was 2,100, so Malvern's performance actually compares favourably with the national picture.

A spokesperson for SW Healthcare, the GP federation for South Worcestershire, said the pressures of Covid and the vaccination programme had impacted staff levels.

They added the federation is actively recruiting new GPs now, saying: "It is certainly true that practices in Worcestershire are working harder than ever to support patients—with the pressures of both the Covid-19 pandemic and the vaccination programme adding to the already busy workload of our local GPs.

"However, the nature of General Practice has changed to reflect the more specialised needs of our community—with multidisciplinary teams including first-contact physiotherapists, clinical pharmacists and community paramedics, as well as our valued nursing professionals, playing a crucial part in delivering primary care services to patients locally.

"We’re also working closely with training providers in our region, such as the University of Worcester, to cultivate opportunities for newly qualified professionals in general practice, with the aim of retaining talented clinicians who’ve lived and trained in our local area.

"And of course, we’re always on the lookout for talented new staff to join us in both clinical and wider support roles—with all our current opportunities advertised on our website."