A HEALTH boss has called for more to be done to train and recruit GPs in Lancashire after new figures showed a decline in their numbers.

Shock NHS Digital data showed the number of GPs per 100,000 of the population in the county has fallen from 77 in 2015 to 75 this year - amounting to an overall drop of 19 full-time equivalent posts.

The figures show that the number of GPs per 100,000 of the population in Lancashire is lower than in other areas of England, including the South East which has 86 GPs per 100,000 of the population.

Although some parts of the county have seen GP numbers rise slightly, in Blackpool, Chorley and South Ribble, Preston, West Lancashire and Fylde and Wyre they have gone down.

In Blackburn with Darwen, GP numbers rose by one while there was no change in numbers for East Lancashire. However it is believed the overall population in both areas has grown.

The figures come as the governments aims to provide for 5,000 new GPs by 2020.

Mike Wedgeworth, chairman of health watchdog Healthwatch Lancashire, said that ‘more must be done' to get more GPs in Lancashire.

Mr Wedgeworth said: “All the experts say that General Practice is at the heart of the Health Service.

“The evidence of our research absolutely confirms this.

“So, quite simply, more must be done to get more GPs in Lancashire.”

Dr Malcolm Ridgway, clinical director of quality and effectiveness at NHS Blackburn with Darwen CCG, said that across Lancashire and South Cumbria, an extra 140 GPs were being bid for via the international GP.

Dr Ridgway said: “GPs are the cornerstone of the NHS.

“We have many more medical students in training and though that will take time to filter through, the number of GP trainees in the area is comparatively good.

“We have a number of other schemes to attract GPs back to the profession from abroad or retirement and we are working on new models of care delivery that will ensure that primary care more is more rewarding so that doctors choose to work or stay in General Practice.”

Dr Amanda Doyle, Lancashire and South Cumbria Sustainability and Transformation Partnership lead, and a Blackpool GP, said: “Evidence shows that if trainee GP’s have a good experience in their placements, they are likely to stay in the area.

"Part of our work is to ensure that this is possible."