GP clinic closures are linked to lower patient satisfaction at remaining practices, study finds

Closures of general practices in England were associated with reduced satisfaction with services in other practices that had to absorb the added strain and a fall in funding per patient, a study has found.1

Data show that two general practices close every week in the UK, causing them to hand back their contract and cease to exist, merge with another practice, or be taken over by another practice or a third party. During the study period 694 practices closed (8% of the total).

With current workload pressures, staffing shortages, and the soaring cost of utility bills threatening the viability of many more practices, researchers at the University of Manchester set out to assess …