A survey undertaken late last year suggests that as many as one in five practices has suffered from the ‘ripple effect’ caused by the closure of a nearby practice, with remaining surgeries being inundated with new patients, which in turn has caused more stress, list closures and patient access crises.

The survey by Pulse magazine also revealed that one in 20 practices were considering closing by the spring of this year because of a range of issues, such as the Minimum Patient Income Guarantee (MPIG) withdrawal and the hiatus in GP recruitment.

Commenting on the survey results, a spokesman for the General Practitioners’ Medical Committee (GPMC) said that as practices close, the pressures on neighbouring practices have the potential for a ripple effect where further practices, which are already having difficulty coping, become unsustainable.

He added that it is a phenomenon affecting practices up and down the country because, ultimately, general practice has an inadequate workforce, inadequate premises, and a demand that exceeds their capacity. The priority must be to enable practices to remain open.

However, GPs’ fears may be allayed by a statement last month declaring that all practices will see an improvement in their finances from the Government’s extra £2bn investment in the NHS this year, as put forward in NHS England’s recently published Five Year Forward Review, which will include GP practices working closely with job centres, social services and other community services.

At an NHS England board meeting held in December, it was agreed that the £250m per year, plus a £200m ‘transformation fund’ will go towards new models of general practice, also described as ‘frontline services’.

At the meeting, NHS England’s Chief Executive Simon Stevens commented that primary care will get a higher uplift compared with other parts of the health service and said that existing GP premises bids would be prioritised for the first tranche of the new investment.