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Written question asked by Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 July 2026. It was answered by Stephen Kinnock (Labour) on Wednesday, 8 July 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

General Practitioners: Early Retirement

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of General Practitioners leaving the NHS before retirement age in each year since 2015, by numbers leaving more than 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 years before retirement age.

Answer

Retirement age is not a fixed date and can vary depending on pension arrangements, the state pension age, and individual choices. Data held by the Department cannot therefore show how many years a general practitioner (GP) has left until retirement.

NHS England does publish data on the age of GPs employed by practices leaving the workforce. The attached table presents this data by five-year age bands.

A GP counted as a “leaver” may have left active service for a range of reasons, including retirement, moving to a National Health Service organisation outside of GPs or to another non-NHS healthcare employer, taking a career break, going on maternity leave, or leaving the workforce temporarily.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
15158
Session
2026-27
Attachment
PQ15158 - Table
Subjects
General practitioners Early retirement
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk