Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of GP patient-to-practice ratios in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

As of 30 April 2025, there were 4.3 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency, and 5.1 FTE doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients in Lincolnshire.

For comparison, the median number of FTE doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients in England was 5.5 in April 2025.

Each general practice is required to provide services to meet the reasonable needs of their patients. There is no NHS England recommendation for how many patients a general practitioner should have assigned, or the ratio of general practitioners or other practice staff to patients.

The demands each patient places on their general practice are different and can be affected by many different factors, including rurality and patient demographics. It is necessary to consider the workforce for each practice as a whole, not only general practitioners but also the range of health professionals available who are able to respond to the needs of their patients.