One in three patients forced to wait week to see a doctor
when they need to, so we’re highly concerned that patients are finding it so difficult to make an appointment, and that in so many cases they have had to wait more than a week.
“This is a clear risk to patient safety and if nothing is done soon, it is clear that this is set to get worse.
“If these patients can’t secure an appointment with their GP when they need one, it’s probable that they will return at some point to another area of the NHS when their condition may have worsened and where their care will cost the Health Service significantly more – something which could’ve been avoided if they’d been able to see their GP in the first instance.” The college warned the delays could present a “genuine risk” to patients if the situation does not improve.
Professor Stokes-Lampard added: “GPs and our teams are now making more patient consultations than ever before – over 370 million each year – and with workload continuing to escalate, and with continuing resource and workforce pressures, the worrying outcome is that we will be unable to see all our patients who need to be seen.” Joyce Robins, from Patient Concern, added: “The situation bleak and I don’t see an end to it.”
An NHS England spokeswoman said: “We are investing over £100million extra this year and £200million extra next year to make it easier for people to see a GP but many patients actually prefer to wait for more convenient appointments.
“Predictions based on existing trends also won’t reflect the improvements that our multimillion-pound action plan will deliver over five years, such as recruiting more GPs and giving everyone access to evening and weekend appointments by 2019.” is