Research from the TUC has found that Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has the biggest GP shortfall in England.
Across the nation, there are nearly 1,000 fewer GPs since 2015, despite the Tories promising to increase numbers by 5,000, meaning there are now 9,325 fewer GPs than needed to safely serve patients.
GP surgeries covered by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group, one of the worst-funded in the country, have 178 fewer general practitioners than needed, according to the British Medical Associations safe staffing levels.
UNISON Eastern head of health Sasha Savage said: “Nearly a decade of cuts has ravaged the NHS. Westminster penny-pinchers are hitting families’ daily lives in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
“There are queues of ambulances outside hospitals while inside NHS workers are frazzled trying to fill the gaps. The difficulties getting a GP appointment are only making this worse.
“Everyone who works for and uses the NHS can see how the government has squeezed our health service and the millions who rely on it are feeling the bite.
“When walking into polling stations this week, people should think about the NHS and the improvements that are desperately needed.”
Across the East of England, there is a shortfall of 816 GPs. The number of doctors has plummeted by 7% since 2015, while the number of patients registered has gone up 5%.
‘Safe’ staffing is calculated according to the British Medical Association definition that each GP can handle a caseload of 1,600 patients.
The figures come a week after UNISON launched a video as part of its Your Vote Can campaign, highlighting the parlous state of our public services after nearly a decade of austerity.
