Parliamentary spokesperson for South Leicestershire concerned for local residents as GP waits of over two weeks reach record high in England

It comes after new research revealed that, since January, 147,056  appointments in West Leicestershire (which covers Blaby and Lutterworth) have had waits of over 28 days, up from 73,928  at the same point five years ago, an increase of 99%.

Local waits of over two weeks have increased from 206,364 in 2020 to 430,145  this year, an increase of 108%.

Paul Hartshorn, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary spokesperson  for South Leicestershire, has called for an emergency package to end the crisis, and for the Government to deliver a new right to a GP appointment within seven days, or 24 hours if urgent, by recruiting thousands of extra doctors. The emergency measures would include a strategic fund to reopen surgeries, dedicated local initiatives to ensure nowhere becomes a “GP desert”, and the introduction of a 24/7 GP booking system to end the “8am scramble”, with 111 call handlers trained to become GP receptionists.  

The House of Commons Library research, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, found that nationally, since Labour have been in power, patients have seen the highest number of two week and four week waits to see a GP since 2020. It follows previous record numbers of two and four week waits under the last Conservative government.

The data also found that there has been a 50% increase in patients waiting over 14 days for a GP appointment since the same period in 2020 across England, rising from 19.7 million appointments that took this long to 43 million appointments. There has been a 67% increase for those waiting over 28 days, from 5.8 million five years ago to 12.9 million today.

Paul Hartshorn, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary spokesperson for South Leicestershire, said:

“Patients here in South Leicestershire are finding it really difficult to get a GP appointment and I am deeply appalled by the fact that they are having to wait such a long time to see their doctor. The Conservatives completely failed our NHS, but Labour are just not providing any real answers to this ever-growing crisis.

“Together with Liberal Democrat colleagues I am calling for an emergency package to save our GP services: with a dedicated fund to reopen surgeries, a 24/7 booking system via 111 and a recruitment and retention drive to secure thousands of extra family doctors. 

“The Government should deliver a right for every patient to be seen within seven days or 24 hours if urgent, so that no one is denied care when they need it."