SWINDON faces a shortfall of at least 25 GPs, health chiefs said.

But speaking at Swindon NHS Clinical Commissioning Group’s annual general meeting, the woman responsible for overseeing the town’s £301million NHS healthcare budget said there were plans to recruit extra doctors.

Nicki Millin, accountable care officer at Swindon CCG, hopes a bid lodged with health ministers could result in 20 doctors being recruited from overseas.

Last year, the CCG estimated they were short of 25 family doctors. There are 23 GP practices in the town.

In August, two Swindon GPs told the Adver a perfect storm of factors were stopping doctors entering the profession, including insurance costs and long hours.

Speaking at the CCG’s AGM, Ms Millin said: “I don’t think the number’s changed significantly since last year. We are still looking for at least that 25 it will be more as the town continues to grow.”

The gap would be filled by recruitment and changes in how patients are treated by surgeries. She said the Wyvern Health Partnership, which includes practices Lawn Medical Centre and the Old Town Surgery, is replacing GPs with paramedics on home visits in a bid to reduce pressures on family doctors.

“One of the things we are doing is to say there are other types of workforce that can work within general practice who will support the GPs,” Ms Millin said.

“So, some of you in your GP surgery may see a clinical pharmacist when you want to have a discussion about your drugs. Certainly, we’ve got pharmacists in the majority of practices. 81 per cent of the practices now. That’s a new thing in Swindon.

“In terms of the GPs themselves, we’re part of a national scheme looking at international GP recruitment.” CCG chiefs will hear in August whether a bid for up to 20 GPs from across the world had been successful.

The CCG was also working with other NHS education groups to try and make Swindon more attractive to GPs as a potential place to work. A retainer scheme allows doctors with crammed schedules complete fewer than four practice sessions a week.

Cherry Jones, director of public health at Swindon Borough Council, said a strategy aimed at promoting healthier and happier lifestyles could help cut people’s reliance on GPs.

The council’s focus is on reablement: preventing people from getting sick and, for those in hospital, making sure they are able to get home as soon as possible.

“What we really want to do is support people to live healthier lifestyles so they don’t need to go to the GP,” Ms Jones said.

Sue Wald, the borough’s director of adult social care, warned that nationally one in 10 GP visits could be attributed to patients feeling lonely or isolated.

She said: “Isolation and loneliness has such an impact on our physical health and mental wellbeing.

“There’s an increased demand on the health system and people’s physical health deteriorates if they are isolated and lonely.”