THE number of people using a Bournemouth doctors' surgery has more than doubled in 28 years, a GP says.

Dr Roberta King, a partner at the Panton Practice in Gervis Road, said when she started work in 1991, there were 7,000 patients. Today, there are around 15,000 patients.

Although surgery bosses have been hoping to find a new site for the practice, Dr King said tracking down a suitable location is "impossible".

"We have been looking for a new site to rebuild for the past ten years but it's just been impossible," she said.

"Even back then we realised that we didn't have enough space and we have continued to grow.

"I think it does impact patient care and even if we were to have another three more doctors to care for patients and bring down our waiting times, we would have nowhere to put them."

Dr King spoke out after it was revealed that half of GP practice buildings are not fit for purpose.

Around 50 per cent of doctors and practice managers do not think their surgeries are suitable for present needs, according to a poll conducted by the British Medical Association (BMA).

Almost eight out of 10 – 78 per cent – said their practice would not be able to handle expected future demands, such as population growth.

"All this talk in the long-term plan of social prescribing and a recruitment drive for more NHS staff, but I have no idea where I am going to put them - that is just not happening in my practice," Dr King said.

BMA GP committee chairman Dr Richard Vautrey said: "GPs have been telling us for years that their practice buildings are not up to scratch and now we have evidence showing just how serious the situation is.

"Despite their best efforts, GPs and their teams are ultimately limited by space and cannot meet the growing needs of their patients without an urgent increase in capacity."

A total of 1,011 GPs and practice managers in England responded to the BMA survey.