BBC analysis shows that the shortage of doctors means the average GP in England has to care for 17% more patients than nine years ago.

This means there are more than 2,300 patients for every permanent GP – an increase of almost 350 since 2015, helping to explain why access to general practice is worsening and patient satisfaction falling.

Analysis of NHS data also shows that in the areas struggling the most, the size of the list is more than 3,000, almost double the number of doctors with the highest number. Experts said the variation was “inappropriate” and put patients’ health at risk.

The government said it is developing a plan to relieve some of the pressure by training more doctors and giving pharmacists more responsibilities.

The analysis looked at the number of permanent GPs, excluding locums and trainees.

The areas with the highest number of patients per GP were:

1. Thurrock – 3,431
2. Leicester – 3,262
3. Blackburn with Darwen – 3,218
4. Luton and Milton Keynes – 3,033
5. Portsmouth – 3,010

This compared with Wirral and Stockport, both of which have numbers below 1,850.

At its annual conference starting on Thursday, leaders of the Royal College of GPs are expected to highlight how access to GPs has fallen hardest in poorer areas.

Professor Camilla Hawthorne, who chairs the RCGP, is expected to tell the conference that the GP shortage is having a “devastating” impact on the health of local populations and that the increase in the number of patients per GP has become unmanageable.

There may be legitimate reasons for the differences in numbers – some areas have higher levels of poor health.

But Dr Bex Fisher of the Nuffield Trust think tank said the variation was “significant and unfair”.

“Although many are struggling to get appointments, those struggles are not felt equally,” she said. He said funding should be better targeted to support areas with the greatest shortfall.

Lewis Ansari, chief executive of patient watchdog Healthwatch England, said: “Difficulty accessing GP appointments is the number one issue people share with us.

“And often unpaid carers, people with disabilities, people on low incomes and those whose first language is not English face the greatest challenges.”

Satisfaction rates with GP services have fallen to the lowest level on record and the latest figures show one in six patients are waiting more than two weeks for an appointment.

Less than 10% of the NHS budget is spent on GP services and members of the British Medical Association have launched a “work-to-rule” including limiting patient appointments over the summer, which the union says will cut funding. There is shortage.

BMA GP leader Dr Katie Bramall-Steiner said: “These figures show how GP practices are expected to do more for less. General practice is collapsing.”

NHS England said: “We recognize that many people struggle to get an appointment as quickly as they would like, and some parts of the country are struggling to recruit the staff needed for surgeries.”

Overall, despite an increase in recruitment, the number of patients per GP has fallen slightly compared to last year.

But despite a growing and aging population, the number of permanent GPs, excluding locums and trainees, is now just under 1,000, or 27,193 full-time equivalents, compared to 2015.

However, numbers in training have increased and Labor has promised to boost it further, while calling for pharmacists to do more to treat minor health problems, in a bid to ease some of the pressure on GPs – They are already responsible for diseases like sore throat, ringworm and some urinary tract infections,

GPs have also been given money to take on extra staff, including nurses and physiotherapists.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the new government had also cut red tape to make it easier to recruit doctors.

“This government is committed to working with the NHS to fix the gateway to our health service and ensure everyone can access GP services,” he said.