Complaints about GPS double as patients struggle to be seen

 Complaints against GPS have doubled in a decade, with the number rising by almost 10 per cent last year alone, official figures show.

The NHS received 90,579 written complaints about GPS in 2016/17, a 9.7 per cent rise in a year, and up from 42,592 cases in 2006/7.

The biggest category of complaint was “communications” such as difficulties getting through on the phone, while longer waiting times also fuelled record dissatisfaction.

Separate figures showed 27.8 per cent of patients experienced difficulties reaching receptionists – a 50 per cent rise in five years, while 11.3 per cent were unable to see a doctor at all.

Joyce Robins, from Patient Concern, said: “It’s absolutely frustrating and terrifying when all you want is a word with your doctor.”

Across the NHS there were 208,400 complaints received during 2016/17, up almost five per cent in a year. The number has risen by 56 per cent in a decade, from 133,393 cases in 2006/07.