ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2021
Are more GPs associated with a reduction in emergency hospital admissions? A quantitative study on GP referral in England.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Trends in acute specialist contacts following a primary care contact 2012-21-a registry-based study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Winter pressures in general practice in England.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Exploring the equity of distribution of general medical services funding allocations in Wales: a time-series analysis.BJGP open · 2025Article
- The Feasibility of an Educational Course for General Practitioners on Otolaryngologic Morbidity.Cureus · 2024Article
- Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundRecent studies have found an association between access to primary care and accident and emergency attendances, with better access associated with fewer attendances. Analyses of an association with emergency admissions, however, have produced conflicting findings.
aimThis study investigated whether emergency admission rates in an area are associated with 1) the number of GPs, and 2) mean size of GP practice. DESIGN AND
settingAnalysis was conducted utilising Hospital Episode Statistics, the numbers of GPs and GP practices, Office for National Statistics population data, Quality and Outcomes Framework prevalence data, and Index of Multiple Deprivation data, from 2004/2005 to 2011/2012, for all practices in England.
methodRegression analysis of panel data with fixed effects to address 1) a potential two-way relationship between the numbers of GPs and emergency admissions, and 2) unobservable characteristics of GP practices.
resultsThere is not a statistically significant relationship between the number of GPs in a primary care trust area and the number of emergency admissions, when analysing all areas. In deprived areas, however, a higher number of GPs is associated with lower emergency admissions. There is also a lower emergency admission rate in areas in which practices are on average larger, holding GP supply constant.
conclusionAn increase in GPs was found to reduce emergency admissions in deprived areas, but not elsewhere. Areas in which GPs are concentrated into larger practices showed reduced levels of emergency admissions, all else being equal.
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Registered trials
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