THE GP practices in and around Northwich with the most and least patients per doctor have been revealed – with some practices having more than 2,000 patients per GP.

NHS Digital figures show 795,227 patients were registered at GP practices in the NHS Cheshire CCG area at the end of January – along with the equivalent of 499 full-time GPs.

This means if the patients were equally spread, each GP would be dealing with an average of 1,594 patients – but in Northwich and surrounding areas, five out of the 11 practices exceed this figure.

Bunbury Medical Practice in Tarporley has the most patients per GP with 2,678, followed by Tarporley Health Centre (2,033) and Oakwood Medical Centre in Barnton (1,853).

In comparison, Firdale Medical Centre in Northwich has the least amount of patients per GP with 897, followed by Witton Street Surgery in Northwich (1,065) and Drs Adey and Dancy at Tarporley Health Centre (1,183).

Take a look at the full data for the number of patients per GP in all practices across Northwich and surrounding areas:

A complete list is below, including the name of the practice, its location, the total number of patients, the total GP head count and the number of patients per GP:

Bunbury Medical Practice in Vicarage Lane, Tarporley (Rural Alliance PCN): 5,356 total patients, 2 GPs (2,678)

Tarporley Health Centre in Park Road, Tarporley (Rural Alliance PCN): 8,133 total patients, 4 GPs (2,033)

Oakwood Medical Centre in Broadway, Barnton (Northwich PCN):  9,268 total patients, 5 GPs (1,853)

Weaverham Surgery in Northwich Road, Weaverham (Northwich PCN): 7,348 total patients, 4 GPs (1,837)

Watling Street Surgery in Walton Street, Northwich (Northwich PCN): 7,271 total patients, 4 GPs (1,817)

Middlewich Road Surgery in Middlewich Road, Northwich (Northwich PCN): 7,231 total patients, 5 GPs (1,446)

Kelsall Medical Centre in Church Street, Tarporley (Rural Alliance PCN: 5,505 total patients, 4 GPs (1,376)

Danebridge Medical Centre in London Road, Northwich (Northwich PCN): 24,800 total patients, 20 GPs (1,200)

Drs Adey and Dancy, Tarporley Health Centre (Rural Alliance PCN): 5,918 total patients, 5 GPs (1,183)

Witton Street Surgery in Witton Street, Northwich (Northwich PCN): 8,525 total patients, 8 GPs (1,065)

Firdale Medical Centre in Firdale Road, Northwich (Northwich PCN): 9,867 total patients, 11 GPs (897)

In response to the data, a spokesperson for NHS Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group said: “GP practices staff their surgeries with a mixture of healthcare professionals to meet the needs of their patients.

"Typically, this includes not only GPs, but practice nurses, nurse practitioners and others.

“In recent years, a national programme has led to the addition of pharmacists, physiotherapists, physician associates and paramedics to local teams alongside new roles such as care co-ordinators.

"The aim is to help people access the best-placed professional to meet their care needs in the most timely way.

“Although the NHS Digital figures don’t fully reflect local employment models and use of locum staffing, in Cheshire we continue to work with all our member GP practices around recruitment and retention of GPs.”

Professor Martin Marshall, chairman of The Royal College of GPs, said: “GPs want to be able to consistently give their patients the care they deserve, no matter where they live.

“But the increased workload expected of GPs and their teams while their numbers fail to increase at the necessary pace, is unsustainable.”

Along with hiring more GPs, he said plans are also needed to keep experienced GPs in the workforce for longer.

The Department of Health and Social Care said there were more than 1,600 more full-time doctors in December 2021 than two years previously, with a record-breaking number starting training last year.

A spokesman said: “We have invested £520 million to improve and expand GP capacity during the pandemic.”