Primary care in Portsmouth

Primary care in Portsmouth operates in one of the most compact and densely populated health economies outside London.

The city had an estimated resident population of around 214,300 in 2024.

Approximately 75% of residents live on Portsea Island.

• 75%On Portsea Island

That density creates a very different healthcare market from rural Hampshire.

GP practices, pharmacies, community services and hospital care are physically close together for much of the population.

But geographic proximity does not mean demand is easy to manage.

The city's primary-care needs reflect significant deprivation, a comparatively large younger-adult population, mental-health pressures and a substantial burden of long-term conditions. At the same time the population is ageing, health inequalities persist and more support is expected to move from hospitals into neighbourhoods. That combination creates different patterns of demand within a small geographic area.

The city's primary-care structure is also highly consolidated.

Ten GP practices work through five Primary Care Networks, serving a registered population of more than 230,000.

In September 2026, Portsmouth approved a new Neighbourhood Health Strategic Plan for 2026–29 based around seven Neighbourhood Health Areas.

At the same time, the final 2025 Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment concluded that the city's existing pharmacy network meets current and expected need and that there is no identified requirement for an additional pharmaceutical-services provider.

For prospective healthcare providers, the strongest opportunities are therefore likely to sit inside specific pathways, neighbourhoods and patient groups rather than in a general assumption that Portsmouth needs another primary-care front door.

Portsmouth primary care at a glance

These figures come from different datasets and reference periods. They describe the structure of the market rather than a single live operational snapshot.

214,300

Residents in the ONS mid-2024 estimate

40

Square kilometres in area

75%

Of the population living on Portsea Island

10

GP practices

5

Primary Care Networks

230,000+

Patients across the five PCNs

7

Neighbourhood Health Areas approved in September 2026

33

Community pharmacies in the October 2024 evidence used by the 2025 assessment

None

Additional pharmacy provider required in the 2025 assessment

96%

Of residents within a 15-minute walk of a community pharmacy

97%+

Within a 10-minute public-transport journey

15

Of 125 small neighbourhoods in England's most deprived 10% in 2025

18%

Projected growth in the 65-plus population, 2022 to 2032

26%

Projected growth in the 80-plus population over the same period

Portsmouth is unusually compact

Portsmouth covers only around 40 square kilometres.

That makes healthcare access physically easier than in many county authorities.

The city is also highly urbanised.

The city's density offers large patient catchments within relatively short distances, supporting community outreach, home visits and closer links among GP practices, pharmacies and other services. It can also lower travel costs for mobile provision. Those advantages come with concentrated competition, so a new clinic still needs a clearly defined proposition.

But density also means competition can be concentrated.

A clinic opened in one part of Portsmouth may compete with several existing services within a relatively small radius.

The city has a younger population than many neighbouring authorities

Portsmouth's universities, naval presence and working-age economy create a large younger-adult population.

This affects primary-care demand.

The local population makes mental health, sexual and reproductive health, minor illness, substance-misuse support, occupational health and prevention among working-age adults especially relevant. A healthcare business focused exclusively on older people could overlook a substantial part of the market.

A healthcare business built only around older people would miss a large part of the local market.

Portsmouth is still ageing quickly

The younger baseline should not obscure the future trend.

The number of people aged 65 and over is projected to rise by around 18% between 2022 and 2032.

• 18%Aged 65 and over by 2032
• 26%Aged 80 and over by 2032
• 72%Aged 80 and over by 2047

The population aged 80 and over is projected to increase by around 26%.

By 2047, the 80-plus population is expected to be around 72% larger than in 2022.

The growth of older residents is likely to increase need for frailty support, hypertension and diabetes management, respiratory care, medication review, dementia services, falls prevention and healthcare delivered at home. The city must therefore meet rising older-person complexity alongside its working-age needs.

The city is therefore managing younger-adult demand and ageing at the same time.

Five PCNs organise general practice

Portsmouth's 10 GP practices work through five Primary Care Networks.

The current Health and Care Portsmouth structure lists:

Brunel PCN

Brunel PCN serves around 44,700 patients through Uni-City Medical Practice, The Lighthouse Group Practice and East Shore Medical Group.

Island City PCN

Island City PCN serves approximately 53,500 patients through Island City Practice and Derby Road Practice.

Portsdown PCN

Serving approximately 62,400 patients through Portsdown Group Practice.

Portsmouth North PCN

Portsmouth North PCN serves around 32,200 patients through The Drayton Surgery and Kirklands Surgery.

Portsmouth South Coast PCN

Portsmouth South Coast PCN serves about 38,700 patients through Trafalgar Medical Group Practice and Craneswater Group Practice.

1. Portsdown

   62,400

2. Island City

   53,500

3. Brunel

   44,700

4. South Coast

   38,700

5. Portsmouth North

   32,200

1. Brunel
2. Island City
3. Portsdown
4. Portsmouth North
5. South Coast

Together, these networks cover a registered population of around 231,500.

The registered population is larger than the resident-population estimate because GP catchments do not align perfectly with local-authority boundaries.

The PCNs are meaningfully different markets

The five networks serve different populations.

Uni-City Medical Practice, for example, has a strong student and younger-adult cohort.

Portsdown has a much larger registered population spread across multiple locations.

Southsea practices operate in a different demographic and private-pay environment from practices serving Paulsgrove or other more deprived northern communities.

A provider should therefore not treat "Portsmouth" as one undifferentiated patient market.

General practice is increasingly multidisciplinary

Primary care no longer means only GPs and practice nurses.

Teams may include pharmacists, community paramedics, dietitians, physiotherapists, social prescribers and other additional roles alongside GPs and practice nurses. The commercial question is which part of an existing clinical pathway needs support, rather than simply whether GPs are busy.

Neighbourhood health is now a major strategic direction

Portsmouth was selected for the first wave of the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme.

The objective is to bring care closer to home and make services more proactive and integrated.

In September 2026, the Health and Wellbeing Board approved the Portsmouth Neighbourhood Health Strategic Plan 2026–29.

The plan establishes seven Neighbourhood Health Areas as common geographies for local planning.

10

GP practices

5

Primary care networks

7

Neighbourhood health areas

This is one of the strongest current primary-care signals in Portsmouth.

The neighbourhood model goes beyond GP practices

The model brings together general practice, community healthcare, mental-health services, social care, voluntary organisations and local community resources. It is intended to provide more coordinated support for people with complex conditions and those at greater risk of hospital admission.

A new provider may therefore create more value by becoming part of an integrated pathway than by opening an isolated service.

Paulsgrove and Portsea are early examples

Portsmouth began piloting community wellbeing hubs in Paulsgrove and Portsea during 2026.

These pilots are intended to bring services and community support together around local need.

For providers, this illustrates the future direction.

These neighbourhood pilots illustrate a shift toward place-based, preventive and integrated services that connect clinical care with wider community support. New entrants should consider how they would contribute rather than establish disconnected clinics.

Deprivation is one of Portsmouth's defining health factors

The 2025 Index of Multiple Deprivation places Portsmouth among the more deprived local authorities in England.

Fifteen of the city's 125 lower-layer neighbourhoods are within the most deprived 10% nationally.

1. All small neighbourhoods

   125

2. In the most deprived 10% in England

   15

Deprivation is particularly concentrated in Charles Dickens, Paulsgrove, Nelson, Fratton and St Thomas. Residents in these areas may experience earlier onset of long-term conditions and additional access barriers, so local clinical needs can differ markedly from city-wide averages.

This affects primary-care demand.

People in deprived communities often develop long-term conditions earlier and experience poorer healthy life expectancy.

Deprivation also affects commercial models

High healthcare need does not automatically create high private-pay demand.

A service for areas with limited private purchasing power may depend on NHS, public-health, employer-funded or partnership commissioning rather than fees charged directly to patients. The business case needs to align with who can actually pay.

A premium private clinic may be commercially stronger in a different part of the city.

The payer needs to match the population.

Long-term conditions are a central neighbourhood-health priority

Portsmouth's neighbourhood-health programme initially focuses particularly on people living with long-term conditions.

Conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, angina, hypertension and multiple sclerosis can require repeated clinical attention and coordinated care. Their impact is not captured simply by the number of one-off appointments.

These conditions often require repeated contact rather than one-off treatment.

Potential services include structured monitoring, rehabilitation, medication review, ongoing case management and prevention. Integration with existing neighbourhood teams is likely to matter more than offering a stand-alone intervention.

Cardiovascular prevention remains important

Portsmouth has significant cardiovascular-health inequality.

Blood-pressure detection, cholesterol management, diabetes prevention, smoking cessation and medication optimisation are all relevant to cardiovascular risk. Much of this work is already undertaken through NHS primary care and pharmacy, so any entrant should identify a complementary commissioned or privately funded role.

A new service needs to map what is already delivered through GP practices, pharmacies and public health.

Respiratory health is another relevant pathway

Portsmouth's health profile includes respiratory risk associated with deprivation, smoking and environmental factors.

COPD reviews, inhaler optimisation, spirometry, smoking cessation and proactive identification of disease may contribute to earlier intervention. A credible service should fit local GP, pharmacy and community-respiratory pathways.

These services have a stronger case when integrated into existing pathways.

Mental health is a major part of the market

Portsmouth has significant mental-health demand across younger adults and working-age communities.

The No Wrong Door approach aims to reduce barriers between primary care, specialist mental-health services, physical healthcare, social care and community support. An independent provider needs to understand those links and identify the particular part of the patient pathway it can improve.

For private or commissioned providers, this creates potential opportunity.

But the existing pathway needs to be understood first.

Student health is a distinct submarket

Portsmouth's universities create a large student population.

Uni-City Medical Practice alone serves more than 20,000 people and was upgraded by CQC to Good in January 2026 after earlier concerns.

Students may need mental-health, sexual-health and contraception services, minor-illness care, travel health and neurodevelopmental support. Some provision is already available through NHS and university-linked services, so demand for a new clinic cannot be assumed from student numbers alone.

Much of this is already available through NHS and university-linked services.

A private offer needs real differentiation.

Community pharmacy is a major part of local primary care

Portsmouth's 2025 Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment shows a well-distributed pharmacy network across North, Central and South Portsmouth.

The PNA's principal evidence base included 33 community pharmacies in October 2024.

Provision subsequently changed through consolidations and closures.

The final assessment nevertheless concluded that current pharmaceutical need continues to be met.

This is an important distinction.

Provider numbers can fall without creating a statutory market gap.

Pharmacy access is strong

The PNA modelled that nearly 96% of Portsmouth residents could walk to a community pharmacy within 15 minutes, while more than 97% could reach one within 10 minutes by public transport. The figures indicate comparatively strong geographic access in this compact city.

96%

Within a 15-minute walk

and

97%

Within 10 minutes by public transport

That is strong physical access.

Portsmouth's density is a major advantage here.

The final PNA identified no need for another provider

The 2025 Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment concluded that existing pharmacy provision met current needs and anticipated population change without an identified requirement for an additional pharmaceutical provider. It also found broadly adequate access to advanced and locally commissioned services. This is an important constraint on a generic new-pharmacy proposition.

Pharmacy First is already embedded across Portsmouth

Portsmouth promotes Pharmacy First across pharmacies in PO1 to PO6.

The service allows pharmacists to manage defined common conditions without the patient first attending general practice.

Community pharmacies can assess and treat specified common conditions, including sore throat, sinusitis, shingles, infected insect bites, impetigo, uncomplicated urinary-tract infections and childhood ear infections. This commissioned pathway reduces some minor-illness pressure on general practice and competes with certain private services.

This shifts low-acuity workload away from GP practices.

A private minor-illness clinic needs to account for this free NHS alternative.

Community pharmacy is becoming more clinical

Local pharmacies provide an expanding range of services including contraception, blood-pressure checks, medicines support, vaccinations and smoking-cessation work. This should be considered when assessing demand for independent primary-care provision.

For other healthcare organisations, pharmacies can be competitors, referral sources or delivery partners depending on the clinical pathway. Counting GP appointments alone would miss these alternatives.

Ignoring pharmacy would give an incomplete view of the local market.

The pharmacy network has become smaller

The PNA acknowledges consolidations and reductions in provision over recent years.

The Health and Wellbeing Board still concludes that current provision is adequate.

But it also says further reductions could require reassessment.

That makes network resilience worth monitoring.

An area can move from adequate to constrained if further closures occur.

Digital primary care can work well in a compact city

Portsmouth's population density and younger-adult profile support digital access.

Digital triage, remote monitoring, medication reviews and follow-up appointments can improve efficiency and convenience. However, deprivation and digital exclusion mean online-only services may not be accessible to everyone and must provide appropriate alternatives.

But digital models need to consider deprivation and digital exclusion.

A digital-only offer may exclude some of the patients with the greatest health need.

Home-based care will become more important

Home diagnostics, remote monitoring, rehabilitation, frailty assessment and medicines support could help meet the neighbourhood strategy's aim of avoiding unnecessary hospital use. Such provision needs safe clinical escalation and clear referral arrangements.

Services that can work safely in people's homes may fit the future system better than another fixed-site clinic.

Private healthcare has a market, but it is uneven

Portsmouth contains professional households, university employees and naval or defence-sector workers alongside private renters and communities facing significant deprivation. Willingness and ability to self-fund healthcare will differ across these groups.

Possible privately funded offers include GP access, diagnostics, screening, occupational medicine and specialist consultations. The patient catchment, competition and achievable price for each service should be assessed separately.

Occupational health may offer a stronger commercial route

Naval and defence activity, the port and logistics sector, universities, healthcare, public services and hospitality all contribute to Portsmouth's economy. Employers have distinct requirements from individual private patients.

Some may purchase workplace health surveillance, vaccinations, occupational assessments or absence-management support. This can provide a business-to-business revenue route, but the relevant contracts and procurement arrangements must still be tested.

This can create a revenue model that does not depend on individual private-pay demand.

Workforce competition remains significant

An entrant must recruit clinicians in a market shared with GP practices, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare, pharmacies and private providers. Establishing availability and retention of suitably qualified staff is necessary before demand assumptions become commercially meaningful.

Patient demand is only useful if the service can recruit the professionals needed to deliver it.

NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight remains the key system

NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight is the relevant system for primary-care commissioning, neighbourhood-health priorities and pathway development. Portsmouth businesses should not apply Thames Valley assumptions merely because nearby authorities fall into another ICB.

Local government reorganisation adds some strategic uncertainty

Portsmouth's wider local-government structure has been under review during 2026.

In September 2026, the government withdrew its previous reorganisation decision and began reviewing plans again.

This does not remove Portsmouth's current primary-care arrangements.

But providers making long-term assumptions should remain aware that wider local governance may change.

CQC registration depends on the actual service

A healthcare business does not need the same CQC registration simply because it operates from a clinic.

Depending on the clinical activities and applicable exemptions, relevant regulated activities may include treatment of disease, disorder or injury; diagnostic and screening procedures; surgical procedures; or certain remote medical-advice and triage models. The activity being delivered must determine the registration scope, not the clinic label.

The registration scope should follow the clinical service.

What does the Portsmouth primary-care market actually show?

Portsmouth has substantial primary-care demand.

But it also has extensive existing infrastructure.

General practice

Ten practices operating through five PCNs. New services need a defined pathway role rather than a general "GP access" proposition.

Neighbourhood health

One of the strongest strategic areas. Seven neighbourhood areas are now the basis for integrated planning.

Long-term conditions

A clear area of increasing demand and a core neighbourhood-health focus.

Prevention

Strong alignment around cardiovascular, respiratory and lifestyle risk.

Mental health

A significant demand area, particularly among working-age adults, but existing NHS pathways need to be understood.

Community pharmacy

A mature and accessible market. The final 2025 PNA identifies no need for an additional provider.

Pharmacy First

An established NHS route for minor illness, reducing the addressable market for some private low-acuity services.

Private healthcare

Potentially viable for selected populations but uneven because of deprivation.

Occupational health

A potentially relevant employer-funded market given Portsmouth's economic base.

If you are considering a regulated healthcare service in Portsmouth, the Should I Start? Market Report can test the specific service, locality and route to demand against the same local evidence used here.

Questions to answer before starting a primary-care service in Portsmouth

A prospective provider should be able to answer:

1. Which patient group is the service for?
2. Which PCN or neighbourhood is relevant?
3. What existing NHS pathway already serves the need?
4. What specific pressure will the service remove?
5. Who will refer patients?
6. Who will pay?
7. Is the model NHS-funded, private or employer-funded?
8. How does community pharmacy affect the opportunity?
9. Is Pharmacy First already meeting part of the need?
10. How will the service integrate with neighbourhood health?
11. Which regulated activities apply?
12. Can clinicians be recruited?
13. How will patients be escalated safely?
14. What evidence demonstrates commercial viability?

If the clinical and commercial case is clear and the service will require CQC registration, you can get a proposal comparing specially selected and verified CQC registration specialists for the service you intend to register.