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<p>The number of patients registered to individual general practitioners (GPs) is
not collected or held centrally. The number of patients registered in each GP practice
in England is published monthly in NHS Digital’s ‘Patients Registered at a GP Practice’
publication. Practices are grouped according to their clinical commissioning group
not parliamentary constituency.</p><p> </p><p>Each general practice is required to
provide services to meet the reasonable needs of their registered population. There
is no recommendation for how many patients a GP should have, as the demand each patient
places on their GP is different and can be affected by various factors, including
rurality and patient demographics. The workforce required for each practice to meet
patient needs also includes a range of health professionals in addition to GPs themselves,
and the best skill mix is for practices to determine.</p><p> </p><p>The average number
of patients seen at each GP practice in the Faversham and Mid Kent constituency per
day is not held centrally. The average number of appointments per day is only available
nationally or for individual clinical commissioning groups.</p><p> </p><p>General
practices are independent contractors to the National Health Service and their contracts
require them to provide essential and additional services at such times within core
hours, as are appropriate to meet the reasonable needs of patients. Core hours for
GP practices contracted under General Medical Services (GMS) contracts are defined
as 8:00 – 18:30, Monday – Friday, excluding weekends and bank holidays. Core hours
for locally negotiated Personal Medical Services and Alternative Provider Medical
Services are set out in their contract but largely mirror GMS opening hours or longer.</p><p>
</p><p>It is for each practice to determine any appointments system which they feel
best meets the needs of their patients. Also, it is for GP practices to organise the
delivery of their services to meet the terms of their contracts and to meet quality
and safety standards set by the Care Quality Commission. Contractually, GP practices
should report any disruption in the delivery of their services which could compromise
their ability to meet the needs of their patients. GP practices may seek support from
their local commissioner, including agreement to close the practice list to new patients
or temporary suspension of patient registrations.</p>
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