13% of people across North West London who try to make a GP appointment don’t get one, whilst 23,434 are forced to wait over a month.
New figures from NHS England show that 13% of people in North West London could not get an appointment to see or speak to a GP or nurse the last time they tried.
Meanwhile, data from the NHS reveals that in the past year, 714,126 GP appointments in London were held a month late, as patients struggle to see a GP when they need one.
In June alone, 23,434 appointments were held a month late in North West London.
When the Conservatives entered government in 2010, they scrapped the guarantee of a GP appointment within 48 hours.
Over the twelve years of Conservative government since then, public satisfaction with GP services has fallen by 39 percentage points – from 77 per cent in Labour’s last year in government, to just 38 per cent now, the lowest level since the survey began in 1983.
Data from the NHS also finds that 37% of appointments in North West London aren’t held face-to-face.
The Government has admitted it is failing to meet its manifesto pledge to recruit more GPs. Under the Conservatives, the number of GPs is falling and hundreds of GP practices have closed since the 2019 general election. As a result, many ‘GP appointments’ held today are not with a GP.
A BBC Panorama investigation in June found that unqualified staff at Operose Health practices, the UK’s largest GP chain, are seeing patients without the required supervision, instead of doctors.
Virendra Sharma, MP for Ealing Southall, said:
“Constituents have been telling me for months that they can’t get in person GP appointments when they need one.
They know this Government is failing them and failing to staff our health service properly.
People in Ealing Southall deserve a Labour Government that will give the NHS what it needs to see people on time, not more of the same from the Conservatives.”
Wes Streeting MP, Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary, said:
“Patients are finding it impossible to get a GP appointment when they need one.
“The Conservatives have closed hundreds of practices since the 2019 election and are breaking their manifesto promise to hire more GPs.
“Labour will recruit and retain the staff the NHS needs to treat patients on time.”
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