Brighton and Hove is officially in the grip of a GP recruitment crisis, the Government admitted for the first time today.

The city has been added to a list of "under-doctored" areas drawn up by the Department of Health.

The list also makes grim reading for residents in the Primary Care Trust areas of Adur, Arun and Worthing, Bexhill and Rother, Eastbourne Downs and Hastings and St Leonards.

They were included last year and Government initiatives to boost GP recruitment have not yet solved the crisis.

Inclusion on the list, compiled from a survey taken earlier this year, means there are fewer than 56 GPs for every 100,000 residents.

Health minister John Hutton said action was being taken to attract new doctors to the five PCTs.

These are allowed to offer GPs a £12,000 "golden hello" payment, compared to a maximum of £5,000 elsewhere.

He also pointed to large increases of around 30 per cent in the PCTs' budgets which could be spent on extra GPs.

Mr Hutton added: "Under-doctored areas have also been prioritised in the distribution of the planned increase of 550 GP registrar training posts up to 2004.

"Furthermore £45 million has been allocated over three years to improve GP training premises and increase capacity in under-doctored areas."