According to figures released at the end of last month, although almost a third of GP training places remain vacant after the first round of recruitment for August 2016, equating to 70 per cent of all available places, this is an increase on the same time last year, when only 69 per cent of places were filled.

However, there are only 2,296 training places filled across the UK, which is wide of the 5,000 new GPs promised by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt before the election in 2014. In fact, according to the figures, across healthcare recruitment as a whole, general practice had the second highest percentage of vacant positions, second only to psychiatry.

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) welcomed the increase, saying that the increase in filled places from last year was testimony to the efforts that had been made to encourage trainees to the profession. In fact, a spokeswoman for the RCGP said that the news was a vote of confidence in GPs and the state of general practice.

She added that the announcement shows that the 10-point plan launched last year by the College, NHS England, Health Education England and the British Medical Association (BMA) is having a positive and very tangible impact.

However, critics maintain that a 70 per cent result is hardly a reason to be optimistic and point out that the figures do not take account of the number of GPs leaving the profession or retiring; it is estimated that around 7,200 GPs plan to retire during the next five years, leaving parts of country with more than 25 per cent of GPs posts empty.