GP Practices Across England Exceed Air Pollution Limits – These Are The Worst Affected

Perhaps surprisingly, some of the worst affected areas are outside London, several in coastal areas. The top 10 most polluted GP practices are located in Barrow in Furness, Lowestoft, Penzance, Ipswich and Portsmouth.

Birmingham has the most numbers of patients at toxic GP surgeries, with nearly half a million patients registered in areas that exceed WHO air pollution limits. This is followed by a number of London boroughs including Lambeth, Newham and Wandsworth.

The 10 GP Surgeries with worst levels of PM2.5 air pollution in England, according to the data, are: 

1. Atkinson Health Centre, Barrow-in-Furness, LA14 2LR 

2. Norwood Medical Centre, Barrow-in-Furness, LA14 5ES

3. Alexandra Crestview Surgeries, Waveney, NR32 1PL

4. Duke Street Surgery, Barrow-in-Furness, LA14 1LF

5. The Family Practice, Barrow-in-Furness, LA14 5SL

6. Morrab Surgery, Penzance, TR18 4EL

7. Dr Solway Dr Whale Practice, Ipswich, IP4 2PZ

8. Orchard Medical Practice, Ipswich, IP4 2PZ 

9. The Hanway Group Practice, Portsmouth, PO1 4ND

10. Kirklands Surgery, Portsmouth, PO3 5AF  

Meanwhile the 10 local authorities with most numbers of GP patients registered at surgeries that exceed PM2.5 air pollution WHO limits in England, are:

1. Birmingham

2. Lambeth

3. Newham

4. Wandsworth

5. Brent

6. Ealing

7. Tower Hamlets

8. Southwark

9. Sandwell

10. Haringey

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England said the NHS is trying to proactively tackle the problem of air pollution. 

“The NHS Long Term Plan sets out how better use of technology can help make up to 30 million outpatient appointments – and the millions of patient journeys to hospital they involve – unnecessary.” he said. 

“The NHS has already cut its carbon footprint by 11% between 2007 and 2015 and now we are working to cut emissions from the NHS fleet by 20% by 2024, with at least 90% of vehicles using ultra-low emission engines. Bold action like this has been estimated to help avoid over 50,000 cases of coronary heart disease and almost 10,000 cases of asthma by 2035.”