Access to GPs: Four per cent in Northumberland forced to wait more than 28 days for doctor appointment

NHS England figures showed that 174,295 people – 4.1 per cent of patients – waited more than 28 days between booking their appointment and being seen by their GP in July 2022.

Of almost 4.2 million appointments, nearly 1.8 million were seen the same day. Just under 350,000 were seen the following day, while around 810,000 were seen between two and seven days.

More than 550,000 people waited between eight and 14 days, while 307,679 had a 15 to 21 day wait and just over 190,000 waited between 22 and 28 days.

The deputy leader of Northumberland Labour, Liz Simpson, blamed higher waiting times on the government.

She said: “In 12 years of Conservative government we’ve seen the health service deteriorate at a time when people have never needed it more.

“If people can’t get to see their doctor, they often end up going to accident and emergency or, even worse, they try to get by at home when they should be getting help. A modern, rich country should have a health service to go with it.

“Under Labour, waiting times and GP access were being continually improved. It speaks volumes that one of the first things to Tories did when they came into power in 2010 was cut the requirement for GPs to see patients within 48 hours.

“We all know that, if health problems can be spotted early the outcome is much better for the patient and in turn this puts less strain on hospital services. If anything, we need more investment in general practice, not less.

“The government is failing in its manifesto pledge to recruit more GPs. We pay tribute to our county’s GPs and practice staff who are doing a fantastic job in difficult circumstances, but they need more resources to look after people in their local communities.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Improving patient access to general practice is a key priority. In July, general practice teams delivered 26 million appointments, including lifesaving Covid jabs. An increasing proportion of those appointments are face-to-face.”