Patients to wait at least a week to see GP or practice nurse

Patients across England face waiting longer than a week for a GP or practice nurse on over 100 million occasions by 2022, the RCGP warns.

The Royal College of General Practitioners’ (RCGP) new figures reveal that the number of instances when patients will have to wait a week or more to see a GP will rise more than 20 million over five years if current trends continue. This will mean that the instances will rise from 80 million in 2016/17 to 102 million in 2021/22.

The College’s research also shows that the situation across England varies, with some areas facing much worse GP access than others.

In 21 Clinical Commissioning Group areas, patients wait at least a week before they see their GP or a practice nurse more than a quarter of the time.

Corby, Farnham and Gosport, Swindon and Central London are some of the worst areas to secure a timely GP appointment, where currently over three in 10 patients wait a week or more for an appointment.

Although access is better in other areas, there are still thousands of patients waiting a week or longer for an appointment.

The RCGP says this is a case of national concern and is potentially a ‘genuine risk’ to patient safety.

Workload in general practice has risen 16 per cent over the last seven years according to research, yet investment has declined and the GP workforce has gone down since last year.

NHS England’s GP Forward View made over 100 pledges since April last year, including an extra £2.4 billion each year for general practice, 5,000 more GPs and 5,000 more members of the practice team, but the RCGP is worried that this is not being delivered as quickly as needed.

Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the RCGP, said: “Our patients should be able to see a GP when they need to, so we’re highly concerned that patients are finding it so difficult to make an appointment, and that in so many cases they have had to wait more than a week to see a GP. This is a clear risk to patient safety – and if nothing is done soon, it is clear that this is set to get worse.

“If these patients can’t secure an appointment with their GP when they need one, it’s probable that they will return at some point to another area of the NHS, when their condition may have worsened, and where their care will cost the health service significantly more – something which could’ve been avoided if they’d been able their GP in the first instance.

“GPs and our teams are now making more patient consultations than ever before - over 370 million each year - and with workload continuing to escalate, and with continuing resource and workforce pressures, the worrying outcome is that we will be unable to see all our patients who need to be seen.

“The GP Forward View could be the lifeline general practice, and our patients, need. But we need it delivered, in full, and as a matter of urgency, if it is to have a chance at protecting our profession, the wider NHS, and ensuring our patients receive the care they need and deserve.”