Growth in employment of pharmacists and GPs has slowed, the latest monthly figures for additional roles show.
According to the latest primary care workforce statistics from December primary care networks (PCNs) employed 32 extra full-time equivalent (FTE) pharmacists, bringing the total to 5,643, whereas 41* more were employed in November and 61 more in October.
GP numbers rose by 44 FTE in December, compared with 83 in November and 113 in October, bringing the total to 996 employed via ARRS.
The rise in general practice assistant numbers remained roughly the same, though higher, with 36 in November and 41 in December.
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However, December also saw a decrease to the number of social prescribing link workers (non-mental health practitioners), 20 less than November, with a total of 2,679.
The number of physician associates (PAs) has continued to fall, with a small decrease of five with figures now at 1,021.
The Leng review, which assessed the safety of the role, said it did not need to be scrapped, but also suggested that the role should not remain as it is. Among its recommendations, it called for PAs to be renamed physician assistants.
According to a recent survey by PA trade union United Medical Associate Professionals (UMAPs), more than three quarters of PAs (76%) say their scope of practice has been restricted since the publication of the Leng review.
The survey of 459 PAs also found that this has impacted both waiting times in general practice and the workload of their doctor supervisors.
Also this month a group of doctors said it was planning to report the GMC to its own regulator over its decision not to set a scope of practice for physician associates (PAs)
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ARRS GPs surpass 3,000
Different figures that are based on ARRS claims data rather than the NWRS show that there were 3,073 GPs as of 31 December 2025.
By the end of November, the FTE figure for November was 1,416.
However, NHS England said the figures for GPs hired through ARRS are subject to a data lag due to the short time period between the month end and the date of data extraction, meaning the figures are provisional and could change in the future.
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*Updated on 2 February 2026 to reflect updated November figures.
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