General Practice Workforce, 31 March 2026

Data reported in last month’s publication for February 2026 showed a notable increase in the number of GPs in Training Grade. Increases in numbers for this cohort would normally be expected later in the calendar year as numbers leave training and enter their placements, though increases have been observed during February in the past when some regions have deferred their recruitment.

The GPs in Training Grade comes from the Trainee Information System (TIS), unlike other GPs which are taken from NWRS. Upon discussing these differences with our TIS colleagues, along side the rise in numbers we also observed a large fall in the number of Unknown regional placements. This has been due to a number of improvements made in the processing of TIS records and the data feed which is made available for the purpose of contributing to these Official Statistics. These improvements now reflect what we feel is a more accurate count for this group of GPs, observed by the reported figure in March which is largely consistent with the figure reported in February. The recent expansion of the GP Programme may also have contributed to the rise in numbers.