Do we have a GP Employment Crisis in 2025?

Insights: Do we have a GP Employment Crisis in 2025?

GP Employment Crisis: Unemployment following their CCT

This year, a new wave of doctors will qualify as GPs, who are highly trained, motivated, and ready to serve their communities. Yet, for the first time in recent memory, many face the very real prospect of unemployment following their CCT. Reports from the BMA and NASGP have already highlighted the growing concern: there are newly qualified GPs unable to secure work.

Looking for more insights? Get your copy of our GP Salary Survey here.

How has it come to this?

At a time when patient demand is higher than ever, when waiting lists are spiralling, and when practices themselves are struggling to keep up, how can it be possible that fully trained GPs are not being employed?

The ARRS Question

One of the most pressing issues to ask is this: has the ARRS budget been fully utilised this financial year?

If not, why not?
Is there still confusion about how the scheme can be used?
Do practices know how to maximise this funding without incurring additional costs?

ARRS was designed to strengthen practice teams and reduce pressure. But if funding is being left on the table, and GPs remain unemployed, then something is deeply misaligned.

Watch our podcasts covering everything you need to know, here!

What’s at Stake?

What does GP employment mean for everyone?

For practices: a realistic workload for everyone, less pressure to refer patients unnecessarily, and stronger teams working cohesively.
For GPs: security of employment and earnings following years of training, and the ability to build confidence in the early stages of their career.
For patients: greater access to appointments, earlier intervention, and a reduced risk of symptoms escalating to hospital admissions.

Surely, every single GP in employment is the most beneficial outcome for all concerned?

So, How Do We Fix This?

This is the question we need to ask, loudly and urgently:

How do we bridge the gap between funding that exists and GPs who are ready to work?
What support do practices need to navigate ARRS confidently?
What changes are required at a system level to ensure that the investment in GP training translates into employment and patient care?

The stakes are too high for inaction. 2025 should not be remembered as the year we saw talented GPs enter the workforce with nowhere to go.

Tell us what do you think?

Has your PCN fully utilised the ARRS funding this year?
Do you believe every newly qualified GP will find employment in 2025?
What needs to change to make this possible?

If there’s still uncertainty around how ARRS can be used, or concern about incurring extra costs, we can help. Our role is to ensure practices make the most of available funding while employing GPs in the right way — strengthening your team, supporting patient care, and reducing pressure on the system.

How can ARRS funding, wider general practice funding, and recruitment processes be aligned? Ensuring every GP is employed, every practice supported, and every patient seen in time?