The GP won’t see you for a month

ONE in 20 patients are being forced to wait at least four weeks for a GP appointment, figures show.

The number facing delays has rocketed by 38 per cent in the past year, from 12.8 to 17.6 million appointments.

In parts of the country, such as the Vale of York, month-long waits have gone up by 80 per cent over the same period, according to analysis of NHS data.

Meanwhile, more than 60million consultations took place after at least a fortnight – an increase of 22 per cent.

Patient groups said the delays are further evidence of ‘GP deserts’ and warned the service risks ‘going the same way as NHS dentistry’. The study looked at the time between a GP appointment being booked and when it took place, broken down by NHS areas.

All parts of the country saw a rise in four-week GP waits in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to the analysis by the Liberal Democrats.

It means one in 20 (5.1 per cent) of the almost 348million appointments involved waits of four weeks or more.

Bury saw a 74 per cent increase in fourweek waits, East Leicestershire and Rutland 69 per cent, and Blackpool 68 per cent. Dennis Reed, of the campaign group for the over-60s Silver Voices, said: ‘The situation over access to GPs is becoming a sick joke. The situation is forcing people to bypass their GP.’

A survey by the King’s Fund found only a third of people are satisfied with GP services – the lowest result in more than 40 years. The Royal College of GPs is worried that patients don’t have enough time with doctors when they do secure an appointment. ‘We don’t have enough GPs to keep up with the growing need for our care,’ a spokesman said.

The Department of Health and Social Care said it is ‘committed to improving access to GPs’ and is delivering 50million more GP appointments per year.