NHS crisis: UK cities where GPs and dentists are most in demand

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  Out of the 25 major UK cities, Reading has the highest combined demand for dentists and doctors (NHS and private), 61% higher than the national average, with an estimated one in 50 people searching monthly
• An estimated 292,020 searches are made for doctors and dentists per month on average in the top 25 UK cities
• Searches for private GPs, dentists and healthcare in the UK have increased threefold over the last ten years

Analysis of Google search data reveals that Reading has the greatest demand for medical care, with the highest demand for dentists and second highest demand for doctors out of the 25 largest UK cities.

The analysis, by affordable cosmetic dentistry provider Longevita, measured how many monthly Google searches for dentists and doctors are made per 100,000 people in the largest 25 UK cities to determine in which cities they are most in demand.

Top 10 Highest Doctor & Dentist Demand in the 25 Largest UK Cities
Location	Rank	Population (est.)	Avg. monthly searches (last 12 months)	Avg. monthly searches per 100,000 people
Reading	1	161,780	3,650	2,256
Edinburgh	2	495,360	10,420	2,104
Bristol	3	465,866	9,210	1,977
Brighton	4	155,919	3,060	1,963
Birmingham	5	1,074,300	20,340	1,893
Leicester	6	329,839	5,670	1,719
Liverpool	7	465,700	7,880	1,692
London	8	9,002,488	150,420	1,671
Coventry	9	316,900	5,090	1,606
Northampton	10	225,100	3,520	1,564

Out of the 25 largest cities in the UK, Reading has the most combined searches for GPs and dentists (NHS and private) compared to its population, with one in 50 people searching on average each month.

There are 3,650 monthly searches made in total, this equates to 2,256 searches each month for every 100,000 residents.

Reading has more people searching for dentists than any other major UK city, with 606 searches for dentists each month for every 100,000 people. 

Reading also has the second highest demand for GPs, with 1,650 monthly searches per 100,000.

The combined figures for Reading are 61% greater than the national average. This is equal to an additional 854 monthly searches per 100,000 people.

Edinburgh has the second greatest combined demand for doctors and dentists out of the UK top 25 cities. 

This is due to Edinburgh having the highest demand for doctors compared to any other major UK city, whereas demand for dentists is one of the lowest.

Edinburgh has a combined search volume for doctors and dentists of 2,104 per 100,000 people each month, or one in 50 people. Around 1,779 of these searches alone are for doctors. 

These combined numbers are 50% greater than the national average, which equals additional 701 searches on average per month.

Bristol has the third highest demand for doctors and dentists out of any other major UK city. 

With 1,977 searches per 100,000 people, its figures are 41% greater than the national average, which equates to 575 additional monthly searches.

Bristol ranks high in demand for both dentists and doctors compared to other cities, placing third and fourth, respectively. 

Just behind Bristol, Brighton has the fourth greatest demand for doctors and dentists out of the major 25 UK cities.

With a combined total of 1,963 average monthly searches, Brighton’s figures are 40% greater than the national average, or an additional 560 people each month.

Over three quarters of all searches are for doctors rather than dentists, though Brighton ranks in the top ten for highest dentist demand at number nine.

Birmingham ranks fifth highest in demand for doctors and dentists out of the 25 largest UK cities with 1,893 searches per 100,000 people, or 35% higher than the average. 

That’s an estimated 491 extra searches for every 100,000 compared to the national average.

There are around 15,020 searches for doctors each month in Birmingham and 5,320 searches for dentists in total. 

Birmingham ranks fourth and fifth highest demand for dentists and doctors, respectively. 

Leicester has the sixth greatest demand for dentists and doctors out of the major 25 UK cities. 

Demand for dentists is sixth highest out of 25, and eighth highest for doctors.

There are an estimated combined number of 5,670 monthly searches, or 1,719 searches per 100,000 population. 

Leicester’s numbers are 23% higher than the national average, which equals an additional 317 searches for every 100,000 people.

Liverpool ranks seventh greatest dentist and doctor’s demand out of the major 25 UK cities. 

There are an estimated 7,880 combined total searches each month, or 1,692 monthly searches per 100,000 people, which is 21% greater than the national average.

Liverpool has some of the greatest demand for dentists, ranking second highest, and eleventh highest for doctors.

London ranks eighth for the greatest doctor and dentist demand, based on 1,671 searches per 100,000 people, which is 19% higher than the national average.

Data reveals there are an estimated 150,420 searches for doctors and dentists every month in London, with four in five searching for doctors.

Doctors are in far greater need, with London ranking sixth for doctor demand and 16th for dentists. 

Coventry places ninth highest doctor and dentist demand, based on 1,606 searches for every 100,000 people, which is 15% higher than the average.

There are an estimated 5,090 searches made each month in Coventry, with just under four in five searches made for doctors.

Much like London, Coventry has a far greater need for doctors compared to dentists, as the city has seventh greatest demand for doctors and 18th for dentists. 

Northampton rounds off the list at number ten, being in the top ten for both dentist and doctor demand.

Based on 3,520 total monthly searches, there are around 1,564 searches made for every 100,000 residents, which is 12% greater than the national average.

Northampton ranks eighth highest demand for dentists and tenth for doctors.

Searches for private dentists, GPs and healthcare have surged at least threefold in the United Kingdom over the last ten years to new all-time highs.

Analysis reveals that searches for ‘private gp near me’, ‘private healthcare near me’ and ‘private dentist near me’ exploded by 278%, 261% and 213% above the average volume this October, respectively.

This is an increase of over three times the search interest when compared to national average levels over the last ten years.

Searches for ‘private dentist near me’ have increased by over three times the average volume in the UK since October 2019 alone. This term is one of the most searched in the UK – with 23,000 monthly average searches, ranking 14th highest search volume out of over 10,000 search terms related to private medical care. Seven out of ten of the top ten national searches are for health insurance.

The data also reveals that some searches for private medical care are almost exclusively made in the UK. 

At least over nine in ten global searches for ‘private gp’, ‘private gp near me’, ‘private dentist near me’, ‘private healthcare near me’ each are made from within the UK – an estimated 41,800 out of 44,300 global average monthly searches.

Over two thirds of global searches for private doctors are made from within the UK, an estimated 108,170 average monthly searches nationally.

An estimated 238,100 searches are made for private doctors or dentists per month on average in the UK, with dentists more in-demand as over half of searches skewed to private dentists (55%) compared to private doctors (45%).

A spokesperson at Longevita, commented on the findings:

“Amid fears of a winter NHS squeeze, characterised by difficulty getting a doctor’s appointment and long ambulance wait times, we are seeing an increase in people searching for private medical care online. For those that can afford private medical care, it can be a lifeline to those in need of a quick appointment. Google Trends data reveals that demand has swelled threefold over the last ten years, with dentists and doctors in need across the country.”

Source https://www.longevitadental.com/, which commissioned the data.