Rishi Sunak has fuelled issues that the federal government will miss its goal of recruiting 6,000 extra GPs in England, which was promised within the 2019 Conservative manifesto.

The prime minister omitted the pledge from his appointment letter to the well being secretary, Steve Barclay, laying out expectations for what needs to be delivered by March 2024.

At the final election, Boris Johnson dedicated to “6,000 more doctors in general practice” as a part of an NHS “people plan”.

The manifesto, which gained the Conservatives a big majority within the Commons, mentioned the federal government’s “core priority is to make sure this workforce can grow and has the support it needs – in terms of numbers, training and resources”.

In a letter to Barclay, seen by the Guardian, Sunak mentioned the “commitments our party made in the manifesto” needs to be “the foundation for our priorities”. He added: “These are the promises on which we were elected, for which the people gave us a mandate, and on which we must make good.”

However, whereas Sunak reiterated different key well being pledges within the manifesto – together with 50,000 extra nurses and the supply of “new” hospitals – the pledge about new GPs was notably absent.

It didn’t get a point out underneath a set of directions to Barclay to “grip delivery of key manifesto commitments to build a stronger NHS and social care system”.

The authorities signalled final 12 months that it was more likely to break its promise, when then well being secretary Sajid Javid admitted they have been “clearly not” on monitor to satisfy the 6,000 determine.

But the letter from Sunak was mentioned by Labour to be contemporary proof that the Conservatives had “overpromised, underdelivered, and left patients paying the price”.

Wes Streeting, the shadow well being secretary, mentioned: “Patients are finding it impossible to get a GP appointment when they need one. First the Conservatives cut thousands of GPs, and now it seems Sunak has abandoned the pledge to recruit them back.”

He added that Labour would abolish the “non-domicile” tax standing for individuals who have citizenship from one other nation to assist pay for “the biggest expansion of medical training in the history of the NHS, providing the doctors and nurses needed to see patients on time”.

Prof Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, informed the Guardian that the recruitment concern needs to be being handled by ministers as a “top priority”.

He mentioned GPs have been “the bedrock” of the well being service and hiring the 1000’s wanted was “not just necessary, it’s vital for the patient care and services we’re able to deliver and the future sustainability of the NHS”.

In September alone, GPs delivered over 29m consultations – with 41% held on the identical day booked, based on the faculty. But it mentioned the numbers of full-time and totally certified GPs had fallen by 1,847 over the previous seven years.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson mentioned that “growing the GP workforce is challenging” however that the federal government was nonetheless dedicated to growing the variety of GPs.

The spokesperson mentioned there have been practically 2,300 extra full-time equal docs working on the whole apply in September 2022 in contrast with the identical time in 2019, and {that a} record-breaking quantity began coaching as GPs final 12 months.

The spokesperson added: “We are also making 4,000 training places available for GPs each year to help create an extra 50 million appointments a year.”

Last month a cross-party committee of MPs warned that GP surgical procedures have been “demoralised”, with employees leaving “almost as fast as they can be recruited” and sufferers dissatisfied with the extent of service they have been receiving.