GP surgeries across Somerset could be benefiting from payments for up to tens of thousands of individuals who may not be real, according to the latest statistics.

These so-called 'ghost patients' are identified when the number of individuals registered at GP practices exceeds the estimated local population count.

The Royal College of GPs has clarified that GP practices are committed to maintaining accurate patient lists and deny any intentions of profiting from inflated numbers. As per NHS Digital's data, as of 1 November, there were 603,326 patients registered in the NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board area. Contrastingly, the Office for National Statistics' 2021 census data places the area's population at 571,548, indicating a discrepancy of approximately 32,000 ghost patients.

This issue might stem from population mobility, including residents moving out of the area. With England registering 62.9 million patients against a population estimate of 57.1 million in 2022, the phenomenon of ghost patients appears to be a nationwide concern, potentially costing taxpayers up to £962 million annually.

The Taxpayers' Alliance said the public is unfairly subsidising GP practices for patients who may not even exist. It called for lists to be amended accordingly if the unknown users cannot be found.

Dr Victoria Tzortziou-Brown, vice-chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: "GP practices try hard to keep their patient lists as up-to-date as possible, but this relies on timely and accurate information about the movement of patients so that individuals are not inappropriately removed from a GP list.

"So-called 'ghost patients' are nothing sinister, and are not a case of surgeries deliberately profiting by keeping patients on their lists when they shouldn't be there – they are a records management issue."

Dr Tzortziou-Brown said list inflation, which incorrectly increases the count of patients, and under-coverage – such as babies being recorded against their parents' records and so are not included in the National Patient Register until formally registered – are among the reasons why GP practices have ghost patients.

An NHS spokesperson said: "NHS England works with GP surgeries to review and update their patient lists, and it is vital that practices do this on a regular basis so they are as accurate as possible."