More than one in three patients has to wait at least a week to see a GP, and one in seven cannot get an appointment for between two and four weeks.
Research shows a rising demand which is forcing 34% of people to wait a week or more for a consultation. It suggests that general practice is at “breaking point”.
A survey of over 4,000 adults in England, Scotland and Wales, found that 17% get an appointment within one to two weeks, whilst 11% wait two to three weeks and 4% wait up to four weeks.
The findings underline the scale of the task facing Boris Johnson who pledged to cut waiting times.
More shocking were the findings that 43% of people with long-term health conditions had to wait longer than a week for an appointment.
Harry Quilter-Pinner, a senior research fellow at IPPR thinktank, who commissioned the survey said: “General practice in England is in crisis. The system is at breaking point. Patients are unable to access the care they need when they need it most.”
Full story in The Guardian, 22 February 2020.