Patients in parts of Shropshire are getting less help from the health service because there are not enough family doctors to serve the population, new Government figures today reveal.

They show Telford and The Wrekin is one of the areas with the fewest doctors in the country.

There are about 57.8 practitioners per 100,000 of the population in the Telford & Wrekin Primary Care Trust catchment area – compared to the national average of 65.7.

The latest data from the Department of Health shows the shortage is having a direct impact on the size of patient lists at GP practices, raising concerns not only over access but also the growing healthcare demands on family doctors.

The figures for September 2007 reveal that there are on average 1,753 people on the books at surgeries in the area – well above the national average of 1,606.

Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard said: “This is more evidence of the Government shortchanging patients. This has a direct impact on thousands of my constituents who despite hard-working and committed local GPs, still have to wait longer and find it more difficult to access doctors.

“The Government needs to take urgent action to bring the borough in line with the rest of the country,” added the Tory MP.

Plans for an extra GP practice in Telford are in the pipeline as part of a natonwide Government bid to tackle low doctor numbers.

Other parts of the county are already benefiting from a healthy number of family doctors. Shropshire County PCT has about 70.2 GPs per 100,000 of the population, with practice patient lists averaging 1,450.