Health experts in the UK have said that there is a shortage of family doctors as General Practitioners (GPs) are being made responsible for as many as 9,000 patients.

They warned that the reforms planning by the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley would further worsen the situation in the UK. Dr Michael Dixon, chairman of the NHS Alliance said that the workforce is wrongly being made to being hospitals instead of communities.

He also said that the situation will get worse with the planned reforms.

According to the figures released by the Department of Health, the total number of GPs increased from 31,369 in 2000 to 39,409 in 2010. A spokesperson said that the authorities are committed to increasing the number of GPs and other frontline NHS staff in order to deliver best care to the patients.

The government is planning to allow for NHS hospitals to earn up to half of their incomes from private healthcare. Ministers are planning to raise the limit placed on NHS hospitals from just a few per cent at present to 49 per cent for income that can be earned through private care.

However, NHS hospitals will have a legal requirement to treat Health Service patients first under the proposed amendments to the Health Bill. Lansley wants the foundation hospitals to earn more money from private care and plough back money into better care.