General practice workforce: as at 30 September 2024
Workforce analysis including headcount and full-time equivalent (FTE) of GPs, nurses and other staff working in general practices., as at 30 September 2024.
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Introduction
The purpose of this release is to provide statistics on the general practice workforce, including staffing levels, workforce flows and staff characteristics.
Statistics are presented for different staff roles by headcount and FTEs. Headcounts are unique counts of people, which means that if a person is contracted to multiple practices, they are only counted once. FTE is usually the better measure for assessing workforce provision as it accounts for part-time working because it is calculated using contracted hours.
This release also includes analysis of GPs and wider practice staff by age, gender, ethnicity and Welsh language skills. Additional data tables are published on StatsWales.
The main source of data is the Wales National Workforce Reporting System (WNWRS) and information on data collection processes and statistical quality is available in the quality report.
Summary
The recent slight upward trend in fully qualified GPs working in general practices continued, with the highest headcount of GPs recorded since comparable data was first collected in June 2021. The FTE of these GPs also increased marginally to the second highest figure on record.
The distribution between GP types continues to change, with the ongoing trend of fewer GP partners being more than offset by increases in salaried GPs. The number of active GP locums peaked in September 2023, but has fallen since, while the number of GP registrars (trainee GPs) increased by a quarter over the last three years to a record high in September 2024.
While more GP partners left general practice than joined, the percentage of staff turnover for GP partners was lower than all other GP types and wider practice staff groups.
There is diversity among GPs, but the most common characteristic profile of a fully qualified GP as of 30 September 2024 is that of a white female aged 30 to 45, with no Welsh language skills, working part-time hours.
The large increases in the number of wider practice staff which have occurred from 2020 have levelled off in recent quarters, especially when measured by FTE.
There were nearly twice as many administrative staff as all nursing and direct patient care staff combined, though only the number of direct patient care staff increased during the year.
The number of general practices has been on a long-term downward trend. This coupled with an increase in the total number of practice staff and a broadly similar practice population has resulted in some practices serving larger geographic areas, with a larger number of staff with varied skillsets.
Main points
- On 30 September 2024, there were 1,608 FTE fully qualified GPs contracted to general practices, an increase of 16 (1.0%) from 30 September 2023.
When broken down by specific GP types there were:
- 1,023.7 FTE GP partners, an annual decrease of 3.6%
- 437.7 FTE salaried GPs, an annual increase of 15.3%
- 134 FTE GP locums worked in the quarter, an annual decrease of 4.3%. (See the quality and methodology information section for information about changes to locum coverage from 31 March 2024)
- 12.8 FTE GP retainers, an annual increase of 12.9%
Alongside fully qualified GPs, there were:
- 463 FTE GP registrars (trainee GPs), an annual increase of 8.1%
- 1,027 FTE registered nurses, an annual decrease of 2.2%
- 970 FTE direct patient care staff (includes staff such as health care assistants, dispensers and pharmacists), an annual increase of 1.7%
- 3,949 FTE administrative or other non-clinical practice staff, an annual decrease of 0.6%
Staff overview
To deliver healthcare services, GPs work closely with other professionals employed in general practices which can be categorised into three main groups. Nurses, which include all staff in registered nurse roles; direct patient care staff (DPC) which includes all other staff who provide patient services including registered pharmacists and physiotherapists, as well as healthcare assistants; and administrative staff which includes staff such as practice managers and receptionists. This section provides statistics on the number of all staff employed in general practices.
One FTE is the equivalent of 37.5 hours per week for all staff except trainee GPs (registrars). If a single member of staff is contracted to more than 37.5 hours, their FTE will be greater than 1.
Quality note: Before March 2024 GP locums were only counted if they had contracts recorded through Locum Hub Wales at any point during the quarter which ended on the reference date only. Since March 2024, GP locums working in health board managed practices who had any work recorded through WNWRS that was not recorded in Locum Hub Wales during the quarter were also counted. GP locums recorded through WNWRS accounted for 5.0% of the GP locum FTE in September 2024.
Figure 1: Number of fully qualified GPs, headcount and full-time equivalent (FTE), 30 June 2021 to 30 September 2024 [Note 1]
Description of Figure 1: Line chart showing the fully qualified GP headcount has been on a slight upward trend since June 2021, and has increased each quarter since June 2022. The fully qualified GP FTE has remained broadly stable since December 2021, with small quarter-to-quarter variations.
Source: Wales National Workforce Reporting System, NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
[Note 1] Comparable fully qualified GP headcount data available from 30 June 2021; FTE data is available from 31 December 2021 only. The FTE number is likely to be a slight underestimate as a small number of GPs have no contracted or working hours recorded. In September 2024, this affected 30 GP contracts.
On 30 September 2024, there were 2,489 (headcount) fully qualified GPs working in Welsh general practices, the highest headcount since directly comparable data was first collected in June 2021.
The headcount has increased for nine consecutive quarters and was 1.8% higher than on the same date in the previous year (30 September 2023).
Those fully qualified GPs accounted for an FTE of 1,608. This was 1.0% higher than on the same date in the previous year, and the second highest on record.
The FTE was equivalent to 64.6% of the headcount performing full-time hours, 0.5 percentage points lower than on the same date in the previous year.
This means that there were more GPs in general practice than a year ago, collectively contracted to slightly more hours than a year ago, but on average contracted to slightly fewer hours per GP.
There were 5.1 FTE fully qualified GPs per 10,000 population in Wales, marginally higher (0.1) than on the same date in the previous year (30 September 2023).
Considering only fully qualified, permanent GPs (includes partners, providers, salaried and retainers, but excludes locums), the headcount was 2,132. This was 4.7% higher than on the same date in the previous year. Their FTE was 1,474, an increase of 1.5% from the same date in the previous year.
Figure 2: Headcount and full-time equivalent (FTE) by GP type, 30 June 2021 to 30 September 2024 [Note 1], [Note 2]
Description of Figure 2: Line charts showing that the majority of GPs are partners. However, the number of partners has been on a downward trend since September 2022; in contrast, salaried GPs, locum GPs and registrars all show upward trends over the time series for both headcount and FTE.
Source: Wales National Workforce Reporting System, Locum Hub Wales, NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR); NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
[Note 1] The FTE number is likely to be a slight underestimate as a small number of GPs have no contracted or working hours recorded. In September 2024, this affected 30 GP contracts.
[Note 2] A standard contract for a registrar is for 40 hours per week, therefore registrars’ FTE are based on a 40-hour week, whereas the FTE for all other GPs is based on 37.5 hours per week.
On 30 September 2024, just more than nine out of ten (91.7%) fully qualified GPs (FTE) were contracted to permanent roles, 0.5 percentage points higher than on 30 September 2023.
There were 1,365 GP partners (headcount), an annual decrease of 1.2%. The FTE of GP partners was 1,024, an annual decrease of 3.6%.
GP partners accounted for 63.7% of all fully qualified GPs FTE, an annual decrease of 3.0 percentage points.
There were 739 salaried GPs (headcount), an annual increase of 17.7%. Salaried GPs were typically contracted to fewer hours than GP partners, and the FTE for salaried GPs was 438, an annual increase of 15.3%.
Salaried GPs accounted for 27.2% of all fully qualified GPs FTE, an annual increase of 3.4 percentage points.
525 different GPs had GP locum contracts during the quarter 1 July 2024 to 30 September 2024, an annual decrease of 8.2%. As locum work is temporary, the associated FTE is proportionately lower than permanent GP types and in the latest quarter the GP locum FTE was 134, an annual decrease of 4.3%.
32% of GPs locums who had work recorded in the quarter also had a permanent contract on the reference date (53 were GP partners, and 115 were salaried GPs).
GP locums accounted for 8.3% of all fully qualified GPs FTE, an annual decrease of 0.5 percentage points.
There were 534 registrars (headcount), an annual increase of 10.1% and the highest ever recorded. Most registrars were contracted to full-time work, and their FTE was 463 an annual increase of 8.1%.
Data on StatsWales also shows that there were 32 (headcount) GP retainers, with an FTE of 12.8 contracted to general practices, and 44 F2 trainee doctors (both headcount and FTE) on work placements in general practices on 30 September 2024.
Figure 3: Headcount and full-time equivalent (FTE) by wider practice staff group, 31 March 2020 to 30 September 2024, [Note 1]
Description of Figure 3: Line charts showing that the headcount of all wider practice staff has been on an upward trend over the time series, while FTE has remained stable in recent quarters. When looking at specific staff groups, direct patient care FTE has continued to increase, but administrative and nurse FTE have remained broadly stable in recent quarters.
Source: Wales National Workforce Reporting System; NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
[Note 1] Comparable wider practice staff data collected from March 2020 for headcount and December 2021 for FTE. 4.0% of nurse, 0.9% direct patient care, and 2.0% administrative records had no contract or working hours recorded on 30 September 2024, therefore, the FTE number is likely be a slight underestimate.
On 30 September 2024, there were 8,277 wider practice staff (headcount) working in general practices in Wales, an increase of 0.4% from 30 September 2023. The FTE of wider practice staff was 5,946, an annual decrease of 0.5%.
The wider practice staff FTE is equivalent to 71.8% of the headcount contracted to full-time hours, 7.2 percentage points higher than for fully qualified GPs. All three groups of wider practice staff were contracted to broadly similar proportions of full-time hours, relative to their headcounts.
There were 18.8 FTE wider practice staff per 10,000 population in Wales, an annual decrease of 0.1 FTE.
The largest staff group was administrative/non-clinical staff, with a headcount of 5,537, nearly double the combined nurse (1,429) and direct patient care (1,380) headcounts.
Direct patient care staff headcounts increased by 1.8% from 30 September 2023, the largest increase of all wider practice staff groups. The number of administrative staff increased by 0.4%, whereas nurses decreased by 1.0%.
In terms of FTE, there were 970.4 direct patient care staff, an annual increase of 1.7%, compared to 3,948.6 admin staff (an annual decrease of 0.6%) and 1,027.1 nurses (an annual decrease of 2.2%).
General practices
Figure 4: Number of active general practices, September 2015 to September 2024
Description of Figure 4: Line chart showing a consistent decrease in the number of active general practices in Wales since September 2015.
Source: Welsh Reference Data and Terminology Service (WRTS); Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW).
Number of active general practices by practice size and local health board on StatsWales
On 30 September 2024, there were 371 active general practices in Wales. This number has decreased or stayed the same in every quarter over the last 10 years, and the decreases have largely been in smaller practices.
The decrease in the number of practices reflects both practice closures and practice mergers. Mergers can occur where General Medical Service contractors to combine with another practice for business reasons.
There has been a shift in the size of general practices from over the last five years. The number of small-to-medium sized practices (headcount of between 10 and 29 staff) decreased 5.5% from the previous year and by 25.9% from 30 September 2020. In contrast, the number of larger practices (headcount of 30 or more staff) increased by 4.3% from the previous year and by 40.2% from 30 September 2020.
On average (mean) there were 21.7 FTE staff per practice on 30 September 2024, an annual increase of 2.2%.
In circumstances where there are no GP partners to operate an existing general practice, the local health board can choose to manage the practice, by directly employing staff including salaried and locum GPs. On 30 September 2024, there were 19 local health board managed practices, 7 fewer than on 30 September 2023. These practices employed 60 FTE fully qualified GPs and 341 FTE wider practice staff. These staff are included in the total staff counts and data on managed practices are available on StatsWales.
Figure 5: Average number of full-time equivalent (FTE) practice staff per practice, December 2021 to September 2024
Description of Figure 5: Line chart showing a slight upward trend in the number of GPs, nurses and direct patient care staff per practice; while the number of administrative staff per practice increased more sharply over the time series.
Source: Wales National Workforce Reporting System, Locum Hub Wales; NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
Average number of staff (full-time equivalent) per practice by local health board on StatsWales
On 30 September 2024, the average general practice employed 11 FTE administrative staff, 4 FTE fully qualified GPs, 3 FTE nurses and 3 FTE direct patient care staff.
The number (FTE) of fully qualified GPs, direct patient care staff and admin staff per practice have all increased by 0.1 from the same date in the previous year (30 September 2023), while the number of nurses per practice has remained constant.
Patients
This section provides statistics on the number of people who are registered to general practices in Wales (also known as the practice population).
Figure 6: Full-time equivalent (FTE) practice staff, per 100,000 of the practice population, December 2021 to September 2024
Description of Figure 6: Line chart showing that the number of FTE staff per patient registered to a practice in Wales has remained stable for all staff groups over the time-series.
Source: Wales National Workforce Reporting System, Locum Hub Wales, National Health Application and Infrastructure Services (NHAIS), NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership; Welsh Demographic Service (WDS), Digital Health and Care Wales
On 30 September 2024, there were 48.7 FTE fully qualified GPs per 100,000 patients registered to practices in Wales, an increase of 0.3 FTE from the same date in the previous year.
In addition, there were 119.5 FTE administrative staff, an annual decrease of 1.2 FTE; 31.1 FTE nurses, an annual decrease of 0.8 FTE; and 29.4 FTE direct patient care staff, an increase of 0.3 FTE.
Figure 7: Cross-border patient flows, January 2020 to October 2024
Description of Figure 7: Line chart showing that a consistently larger number of English resident patients have been registered to Welsh general practices than Welsh residents registered to English general practices. The number for both measures has remained broadly stable since January 2020.
Source: National Health Application and Infrastructure Services (NHAIS), NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership; Welsh Demographic Service (WDS), Digital Health and Care Wales
[Note 1] No data was extracted for April 2022.
As of October 2024, there were 20,938 English residents registered to general practices in Wales, and 13,290 Welsh residents registered to general practices in England.
The net flow of patients into Welsh general practices was 7,648 in October 2024. This number has remained broadly stable since data was first available in January 2020, ranging from 7,102 in January 2020 to 8,387 in July 2022.
Workforce flows
This section provides analysis of how staff have moved between roles or have left or joined the workforce since the same reference date in the previous year, based on FTE.
A member of staff is defined as having joined the workforce if they were contracted in general practice on 30 September 2024 but not contracted to work in general practice, in the same staff group on 30 September 2023.
A member of staff is defined as having left the workforce if they were contracted in general practice on 30 September 2023 but not contracted to work general practice, or not contracted to work in the same staff group in general practice on 30 September 2024.
Figure 8: Fully qualified GP, full time equivalent (FTE) joiners and leavers by GP type, 30 September 2023 to 30 September 2024 [Note 1] [Note 2]
Description of Figure 8: Bar chart showing there were more fully qualified GP joiners than leavers in the latest year. There were difference between GP types with more joiners than leavers in the salaried GP, locum GP and GP retainer roles, but more leavers than joiners in the GP partner role.
Source: Wales National Workforce Reporting System, Locum Hub Wales; NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
[Note 1] This chart will not count any staff who joined after 30 September 2023 but left before 30 September 2024.
[Note 2] The difference between the number of FTE staff joining and leaving may not necessarily equal the change in the number of FTE staff working between 30 September 2023 and 30 September 2024 as staff who were present on both reference dates could have changed their contracted hours.
130.7 FTE fully qualified GPs joined the workforce and 85.7 FTE fully qualified GPs left the workforce between 30 September 2023 and 30 September 2024.
90.7 FTE (or 69.4%) of the new fully qualified GPs joined as a salaried GP, 25.6 (19.6%) joined as a GP locum, 12.2 (9.4%) joined as a GP partner and 2.1 (1.6%) joined as a GP retainer.
1.2% of GP partners FTE had joined during the previous twelve months, compared to 20.7% of salaried GPs, 16.5% of GP retainers and 19.2% of GP locums.
37.1 FTE (or 43.3%) of fully qualified GP leavers were previously GP partners, 26.6 (31.0%) were salaried GPs, 21.4 (25.0%) were GP locums, and 0.6 (0.7%) were GP retainers.
Of the GP partners who were contracted on 30 September 2023, 3.5% left general practice during the following 12 months, based on FTE. This compares to 7.0% of salaried GPs, 5.7% of GP retainers and 15.3% of GP locums.
For every salaried GP that left the workforce, more than three salaried GPs joined the workforce; in contrast for every GP partner that joined the workforce, approximately three GP partners left the workforce.
Figure 9: FTE wider practice staff joiners and leavers, by staff group, 30 September 2023 to 30 September 2024, [Note 1] [Note 2]
Description of Figure 9: Bar chart showing that there were very similar numbers of joiners and leavers in each of the nursing, direct patient care and admin staff groups between 30 September 2023 and 30 September 2024.
Source: Wales National Workforce Reporting System; NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
Wider practice staff (full-time equivalent) joiners and leavers by staff group, sex and age band on StatsWales
[Note 1] This chart will not count staff who joined after 30 September 2023 but left before 30 September 2024.
[Note 2] The difference between the number of FTE staff joining and leaving may not necessarily equal the change in the number of FTE staff working between 30 September 2023 and 30 September 2024, as staff who were present on both reference dates could have changed their contracted hours.
Between 30 September 2023 and 30 September 2024, there was a net gain of 23.0 FTE direct patient care staff and 0.6 FTE administrative staff, compared to a net loss of 2.2 FTE nursing staff.
On 30 September 2024, 14.8% of administrative staff had joined during the previous twelve months, compared to 14.5% of direct patient care staff and 10.7% of nurses FTE.
Of the administrative staff who were contracted on 30 September 2023, 14.7% left general practice during the following 12 months based on FTE. This compares to 12.4% of direct patient care staff and 10.7% of nurses.
Figure 10: FTE practice staff workforce joiners and leavers by age group, 30 September 2023 to 30 September 2024 [Note 1] [Note 2] [Note 3]
Description of Figure 10: Bar chart showing that for all staff types, those who joined the workforce tended to be younger than those who left. There was some variation among staff groups, with the age distributions for wider practice staff joiners and leavers more evenly spread than fully qualified GPs.
Source: Wales National Workforce Reporting System, Locum Hub Wales; NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
Wider practice staff (full-time equivalent) joiners and leavers by staff group, sex and age band on StatsWales
[Note 1] The age was not known for 10.0% of FTE fully qualified GPs that joined the workforce and 8.7% of FTE fully qualified GPs that left the workforce. These GPs are excluded from this chart and the denominator in any percentage calculations. There was no missing or unknown age data for other staff groups.
[Note 2] Locums are counted if they had any work recorded during the quarter which ended on the reference date only.
[Note 3] This chart will not count staff who joined after 30 September 2023 and left before 30 September 2024.
Nearly six out of ten (58.8%) fully qualified GPs (FTE) that joined the workforce in the twelve months to 30 September 2024 were aged between 30 to 39. The new joiners’ FTE decreased in each subsequent age group.
Leavers were more evenly distributed across age groups, but broadly increased with age. The most common age band for GPs that left the workforce was 50 to 59 (32.8%).
Nearly three out of ten (29.0%) of all wider practice staff that joined the workforce were aged under 30 and a little more than a quarter (26.9%) were aged 30 to 39.
Wider practice staff who left general practice were relatively evenly distributed between age groups, with the highest percentage in the 50 to 59 age group (22.7%).
There were some variations in the age profile for staff joining different staff groups. The majority (62.1%) of direct patient care joiners were aged 39 or younger, while the majority (64.4%) of nurse joiners were aged between 30 and 49. A higher percentage of new administrative staff were aged 50 or older (28.4%) than the other staff groups.
Nearly half (49.6%) of nurses that left general practice were aged 50 or older, compared to just over a third (35.3%) in direct patient care. A higher percentage of younger staff (aged 29 or younger) left their administrative roles (24.3%) than direct patient care and nursing staff combined for that age group.
Figure 11: Movement of FTE fully qualified GPs, 30 September 2023 to 30 September 2024 [Note 1]
Description of Figure 11: Sankey chart showing the majority of GPs contracted on 30 September 2024 were working as the same GP type on the same date in the previous year. The largest flow was new joiners becoming salaried GPs; the largest flow between different GP types was salaried GPs becoming GP partners.
Source: Wales National Workforce Reporting System, Locum Hub Wales; NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
Annual fully qualified GP workforce flows (full-time equivalent) on StatsWales
[Note 1] The joiners and leavers numbers for GP types in this section will not necessarily match those in Figure 8 due to the addition of the multiple staff roles category. For example, if a joiner takes separate contracts as a partner and as a salaried GP, the flow of their FTE will be between ‘joiner’ and ‘multiple staff roles’ rather than joiner to partner or joiner to salaried GP.
The right-hand side of the Sankey chart shows the composition of all fully qualified GPs on 30 September 2024. The left-hand side of the chart shows what GP types the same GPs were contracted to be on 30 September 2023. The centre of the chart shows the ‘flows’ between GP types, with the height of the flow bars proportional to the size of the movement of the GPs’ FTE.
On 30 September 2024, it is estimated that 93.3% of GP partners were also GP partners on the same date in the previous year. This includes GP partners who increased their contracted hours from the previous year. The remaining 6.7% had multiple staff roles (3.2%); were salaried GPs (1.9%); were previously not working in a Welsh general practice (1.2%); or were GP locums (0.4%).
70.3% of salaried GPs were also salaried GPs on the same date in the previous year. The large majority of the remaining salaried GPs were previously not working in Welsh general practices (18.7%); while 5.3% had multiple staff roles, 3.4% were GP locums, and 2.3% were partners.
73.3% of GP locums were also GP locums on the same date in the previous year. 18.1% were not previously working in Welsh general practices, while 3.9% were previously partners, 3.4% held multiple staff roles and 1.3% were salaried.
71.4% of GP retainers were also GP retainers on the same date in the previous year. 16.5% were not previously working in Welsh general practices, 6.8% held multiple staff roles, 3.5% were locums and 1.7% were partners.
Figure 12: Movement of FTE wider practice staff groups, 30 September 2023 to 30 September 2024 [Note 1]
Description of Figure 12: Sankey chart showing the majority of wider practice staff contracted on 30 September 2024 were working in the same staff group on the same date in the previous year. Few staff flowed between the wider practice staff groups.
Source: Wales National Workforce Reporting System; NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
Annual wider practice staff workforce flows (full-time equivalent) on StatsWales
[Note 1] The joiners and leavers numbers for wider practice staff groups in this section will not necessarily match those in Figure 9 due to the addition of the multiple staff roles category. In addition, joiners and leavers in the section are defined at the wider practice staff level, whereas in Figure 9 they were defined at the staff group level. For example, if an individual was contracted to a direct patient care role in year 1 but moved to a nurse role in year 2, there would be a flow from ‘direct patient care’ to ‘nurse’ in Figure 12. However, this movement in Figure 9 would be recorded as a direct patient care leaver, and a nurse joiner.
On 30 September 2024, it is estimated that 89.3% of nurses were also nurses on the same date in the previous year. The majority of the remaining nurse staff were previously not working in Welsh general practices (10.2%), while there was also a small number who were direct patient care staff (0.6%).
85.0% of direct patient care staff were also direct patient care staff on the same date in the previous year. The majority of the remaining staff were previously not working in a Welsh general practice (12.0%), while there was also a small number who were administrative staff (2.6%) or had multiple staff roles (0.5%).
85.1% of administrative staff were also administrative staff on the same date in the previous year. The majority of the remaining staff were previously not working in a Welsh general practice (14.7%), while there was also a small number who were direct patient care staff (0.2%).
Staff characteristics
This section includes data on general practice staff groups by gender, age, ethnicity and Welsh speaking skills. As characteristics of the workforce are unlikely to change much over the short-term, the analysis mainly focusses on changes from the same date in the first year comparable data was collected (30 September 2021).
Figure 13: Percentage of practice staff (headcount) by gender (headcount), 31 December 2020 to 30 September 2024 [Note 1] [Note 2]
Description of Figure 13: Line charts showing that the majority of general practice staff were female in all staff groups. The gap between female and male staff was narrowest in fully qualified GPs and there have been marginal changes in the gender balance for all staff groups over course of the time series.
Source: Wales National Workforce Reporting System, Locum Hub Wales; NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
Fully qualified GPs (headcount and full-time equivalent) by sex and local health board on StatsWales
[Note 1] On 30 September 2024, 6.4% of GPs, 0.5% of nurses, 0.5% of direct patient care staff and 0.8% of admin staff had their gender recorded as ‘other/unknown’. As we are not able to separate out these two categories, they are not included in the charts or in the denominator in the percentage calculations.
[Note 2] Data for fully qualified GPs is available from 30 June 2021.
On 30 September 2024, nearly six out of ten (57.3%) of the fully qualified GPs’ headcount were female while just more than four out of ten (42.7%) were male. The percentage of female GPs decreased by 0.7 percentage points and the percentage of male GPs increased by 0.7 percentage points when compared to 30 September 2021.
53.6% of fully qualified GPs FTE were female GPs and 46.4% were male GPs. The FTE is 3.6 percentage points lower than the headcount for female GPs and 3.6 percentage points higher for male GPs. This means that male GPs typically had longer contracted hours than female GPs.
When all contracted hours were summed for each GP, 93.8% of female GPs were part-time (contracted to fewer than 37.5 hours per week), compared to 82.4% of male GPs.
On 30 September 2024, 96.3% of nurses in general practice were female, 0.6 percentage points lower than the same date in 2021.
88.6% of direct patient care staff were female, 1.5 percentage points lower than on the same date in 2021.
95.1% of administrative staff were female, 0.3 percentage points higher than on the same date in 2021.
FTE data published on StatsWales shows that on 30 September 2024, the percentage of FTE female staff was slightly smaller than the female headcount for nurses and direct patient care staff, as female staff typically had fewer contracted hours than male staff. For admin staff, the proportion of female FTE was slightly higher than the headcount.
Figure 14: Percentage of general practice staff (headcount) by staff group and age band, 31 December 2020 to 30 September 2024 [Note 1] [Note 2]
Description of Figure 14: Line chart showing fully qualified GPs have a younger age-profile than the three wider practice staff groups. Age band 30 to 44 was the most common age group for fully qualified GPs whereas 45 to 59 was the most common for all three wider practice staff groups.
Source: Wales National Workforce Reporting System, Locum Hub Wales; NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
Fully qualified GPs (headcount and FTE) by age band and local health board on StatsWales
Wider practice staff (headcount and FTE) by age band and local health board on StatsWales
[Note 1] On 30 September 2024, 9.6% of fully qualified GPs had no age data recorded, and they are excluded calculations in Figure 14. The majority of these GPs were locums. There was no missing or unknown age data for the three wider practice staff groups.
[Note 2] Data for fully qualified GPs is available from 30 June 2021.
On 30 September 2024, the majority (50.9%) of fully qualified GPs (headcount) were aged under 45, compared to 45.4% of direct patient care staff, 38.8% of administrative staff and 36.7% of nurses.
8.2% of fully qualified GPs were aged over 60 compared to 22.3% of administrative staff, 20.2% of nurses and 14.7% of direct patient care staff.
There have been large increases in the number of nurses in most age groups from 30 September 2021, with a 27.3% increase in nurses aged 60 or older, 18.2% increase in nurses aged 29 or younger; and a 10.3% increase in nurses aged 30 to 44. These increases are partially offset by a decrease of 11.9% in the number of nurses aged between 45 and 59, which was the age group with the largest number of nurses over the course of the time series.
The changes over time in the number of staff in each age group for both direct patient care and administrative staff groups were similar to nurses, but less pronounced.
Figure 15: Percentage of practice staff (headcount), by ethnic group, 30 September 2024 [Note 1]
Description of Figure 15: Bar charts showing the majority of staff in all groups were in the White ethnic group. The distribution in the three wider practice staff groups was very similar, while GP staff were more spread across all ethnic groups.
Source: Wales National Workforce Reporting System, Locum Hub Wales; NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
Fully qualified GPs (headcount and FTE) by ethnicity on StatsWales
Wider practice staff (headcount and FTE) by ethnicity on StatsWales
[Note 1] On 30 September 2024, ethnicity was not known for 13.8% of fully qualified GPs, 8.7% of nurses, 8.2% of direct patient staff, and 8.5% of administrative staff. These are excluded from the denominator in the percentage calculation of the known ethnicity groups. The majority of GPs with missing data were GP locums.
On 30 September 2024, nearly eight out of ten (79.3%) fully qualified GPs (headcount) were from White ethnic backgrounds. This has steadily decreased from 82.8% in September 2021.
The percentage of GPs from minority ethnic groups has increased across all groups over the same period. Black or Black British GPs have more than trebled and represented 2.3% of GPs; GPs from Other ethnic groups increased by nearly three quarters to 3.6%; GPs from Mixed or multiple ethnic groups increased by more than a quarter to 1.3%; and Asian or Asian British GPs have increased by a tenth and represented 13.6% of GPs.
When measured by FTE, the percentage of GPs from Asian or Asian British, Black or Black British, and Other ethnic backgrounds was higher than when measured by headcount. This means that GPs from these ethnic backgrounds typically had more contracted hours than GPs from White and Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups.
98.0% of nurses (headcount) were from a White ethnic group, 1.0 percentage point lower than on the same date in 2021. The remaining 2.0% of nurses were broadly evenly spread between each minority ethnic group.
95.9% of direct patient care staff were from a White ethnic background, a 1.7 percentage point decrease from the same date in 2021. Of those from a minority ethnic background, most were from an Asian or Asian British background (1.9%).
97.4% of administrative/non-clinical staff were from a White ethnic group, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points from the same date in 2021. Of those from a minority ethnic background, most were from an Asian or Asian British background (1.1%).
There was little difference in the spread of all three wider practice staff groups between ethnic groups when measured by FTE.
There is greater ethnic diversity among fully qualified GPs working in Wales than in the general population of Wales. 20.7% of GPs were from Black, Asian, Mixed or Other ethnic backgrounds, compared to 5.2% of people living in Wales according to the Annual Population Survey (ONS) (year ending December 2023) or 6.2% according to the Census 2021 (ONS). However, all wider staff groups had a lower percentage of staff from Black, Asian, Mixed or Other ethnic backgrounds than the general population of Wales.
Figure 16: Percentage of practice staff (headcount) by Welsh speaking ability, 31 December 2020 to 30 September 2024 [Note 1] [Note 2]
Description of Figure 16: Line chart showing that the large majority of fully qualified GPs, nurses, direct patient care and admin staff reported that they had no Welsh speaking skills, although the percentage with no skills has been decreasing over time in all groups.
Source: Wales National Workforce Reporting System, Locum Hub Wales; NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
[Note 1] On 30 September 2024, 36.8% of fully qualified GPs, 46.9% of nurses, 47.7% of direct patient staff and 48.9% of administrative staff had missing Welsh language data and were excluded from the denominator in the percentage calculation of the known Welsh language categories. A large percentage of GPs with missing data were GP locums.
[Note 2] Data for fully qualified GPs is available from 30 June 2021.
Quality note: as there is a high percentage of missing data, statistics on practice staff’s Welsh language speaking skills are estimates, with a lower degree of certainty than all other statistics included in this release. The statistics are included as they are based on the best data on Welsh language skills for general practice staff currently available.
On 30 September 2024, around eight out of ten staff in general practice had no Welsh language speaking ability. The percentage of staff with no skills ranged from 81.2% of administrative staff to 77.8% of direct patient care staff.
Of those who had Welsh language skills recorded, the majority were either ‘higher or proficient’, ranging from 15.5% of nurses to 10.4% of administrative staff.
While the percentage of staff with no Welsh language speaking skills remains the largest category, it has decreased in all staff groups since September 2021. The largest decrease was 5.4 percentage points for the administrative staff group. The ‘higher or proficient’ skill level has increased the most in all staff groups over the same period, with the largest increase in nursing staff (5.6 percentage points).
The percentage of GPs and staff in all three wider practice staff groups recorded as having any Welsh speaking skills is slightly higher than the 17.8% of Welsh population who were able to speak Welsh, based on the Census 2021 (StatsWales).
However, the percentage for all staff groups was lower than the 27.8% of people living in Wales who reported some Welsh speaking skills in June 2024 in the Annual Population Survey (StatsWales).
As the data collection processes for Welsh language information is different across all three sources, the strength of direct comparisons is limited. The statistics presented are the best available and should be used to show an indication of the differences between Welsh speaking skills of general practice staff and of people living in Wales.
Quality and methodology information
Detailed quality information and a glossary of terms is published in the statistical quality report.
Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
All of our statistics are produced and published in accordance with a number of statements and protocols to enhance trustworthiness, quality and value. These are set out in the Welsh Government’s Statement of Compliance.
These accredited official statistics demonstrate the standards expected around trustworthiness, quality and public value in the following ways.
Trustworthiness
The published figures are compiled by professional analysts using the latest available data and applying methods using their professional judgement and analytical skillset.
These statistics are pre-announced on the Statistics and Research area of the Welsh Government website. Access to the data during processing is restricted to those involved in the production of the statistics, quality assurance and for operational purposes. Pre-release access is restricted to eligible recipients in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
Quality
Statistics published by Welsh Government adhere to the Statistical Quality Management Strategy which supplements the Quality pillar of the Code of Practice for Statistics and the European Statistical System principles of quality for statistical outputs.
Where there are data quality issues, they are stated in the release and on StatsWales.
Value
The purpose of this statistical release is to inform users about the main components of the general practice workforce.
These statistics are published quarterly with up to a four-month lag between the end of the reference period of the latest statistics and the publication date. Statistics are published as data tables on StatsWales with an accompanying headline every quarter. An in-depth report is also published annually in HTML format with analysis, charts and commentary focusing on the latest financial year.
Well-being of Future Generations Act (WFG)
The Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015 is about improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Wales. The Act puts in place seven wellbeing goals for Wales. These are for a more equal, prosperous, resilient, healthier and globally responsible Wales, with cohesive communities and a vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language. Under section (10)(1) of the Act, the Welsh Ministers must (a) publish indicators (“national indicators”) that must be applied for the purpose of measuring progress towards the achievement of the wellbeing goals, and (b) lay a copy of the national indicators before Senedd Cymru. Under section 10(8) of the Well-being of Future Generations Act, where the Welsh Ministers revise the national indicators, they must as soon as reasonably practicable (a) publish the indicators as revised and (b) lay a copy of them before the Senedd. These national indicators were laid before the Senedd in 2021. The indicators laid on 14 December 2021 replace the set laid on 16 March 2016.
Information on the indicators, along with narratives for each of the wellbeing goals and associated technical information is available in the Wellbeing of Wales report.
Further information on the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
The statistics included in this release could also provide supporting narrative to the national indicators and be used by public services boards in relation to their local wellbeing assessments and local wellbeing plans.
Next update
The next quarterly update with data for 31 December 2024 is expected for publication in April 2025.
The next annual update (data for 30 September 2025) is expected for publication in January 2026.