73k wait three weeks for GP
PROPORTION OF APPOINTMENTS 21 DAYS AHEAD UP LAST MONTH
ONE in every nine GP appointments last month took place more than three weeks after booking.
A total of 611,982 appointments took place at GP practices across Leicestershire and Rutland in March.
Almost 73,000 of those, however, had been booked more than three weeks earlier.
The proportion of 11.9 per cent of all appointments was up from 11.2 per cent in February.
The average for England was 9.4 per cent. In the best-performing areas, the figures were as low as 3.6 per cent.
Nonetheless, the majority of patients who saw their GP in the area covered by the NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR)
Integrated Care Board (ICB) in March did so within a week of making the appointment.
About 67 per cent of appointments took place within seven days of booking. That included 41.5 per cent of appointments which took place on the same day.
Patients at Alpine House Surgery in Loughborough were the most likely in Leicestershire to have to wait over three weeks.
There, 38.5 per cent of appointments in March took place more than three weeks after booking.
De Montfort Surgery in Leicester was next with a ratio of 32.2 per cent.
It was followed by Hugglescote Surgery (at 30 per cent), and Castle Donington Surgery (28.5 per cent).
After last month’s figures, a spokesman for the ICB said: “Many routine appointments are booked in advance, which does not necessarily mean a patient has had to wait for an appointment, but that their appointment has been booked more than two weeks ahead.
“The ICB is committed to understanding and optimising all aspects of access to general practice in LLR, to support the provision of services that best meet the needs of the local populations.
“In January, 46,771 more appointments were provided in our practices, compared with January 2023.
“LLR is the best performing ICB in the Midlands in terms of numbers of appointments offered per 1,000 patients.
“Over 40 per cent of appointments were provided on the same day, and fewer than 20 per cent of appointments were more than two weeks after contact with the practice.”
Dr Amanda Doyle, national director for primary care, NHS England said: “Thanks to GPs and their hardworking teams, millions more appointments are being delivered every month compared to before the pandemic, with plans in place to improve access even further.
“Every GP practice is upgrading their telephone systems to make it easier for patients to contact their surgery, while patients can use the NHS app to order repeat prescriptions and view their test results without needing to contact their family doctor.
“We know there is more to do to make it easier for patients to access GP services, which is why, building on the successes so far of the primary care access recovery plan, we will continue to modernise general practice, expand pharmacy services, and offer patients more choice in how they access care.”