Eden has fewer GPs than average, according to recently published data.
The NHS has released new figures highlighting the deficit of qualified doctors in the area.
The North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System, which oversees practices in Eden, had 48.3 qualified GPs per 100,000 people in 2021 – lagging behind the national average of 49.2.
This means the area has lost around nine GPs per 100,000 people since 2015.
Some areas of North Cumbria have vacancy rates of more than 40 per cent. The trust is trying to entice new recruits and hopes that the county’s beauty will boost numbers.
Ed Tallis, director of primary care for NHS North Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We are supporting practices to diversify their workforce and look at new ways of running general practice services to make it more attractive to newly qualified GPs.
“We know those coming into general practice want to have roles that allow them to do a range of work, and they don’t necessarily want to become partners in a practice perhaps preferring the opportunities for more variety, support and resilience in bigger practices.”
Cumbria is not alone in this though. Nationally the GP workforce has fallen by almost six per cent from 2015 to 2021.
Beyond outliers such as London, Birmingham and West Yorkshire, most of the nation is facing a GP shortage.
Last month Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the Government is set to miss its pledge of providing 6,000 more GPs by 2024.
Professor Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “General practice is the backbone of the NHS, carrying out the bulk of NHS patient contacts and in turn alleviating pressures across the service.
“We need the Government to make good on its promise of 6,000 GPs and 26,000 members of the wider practice team by 2024 – and to tackle parallel workforce pressures facing practice nursing teams, which aren’t included in this target – to ensure patients can continue to receive high-quality and personalised care from their GP practice.”
When trainees are factored in, the number goes up to 64.9 per 100,000 people, an increase of five since 2015.
