This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
GP appointment waiting time warning
Patients are likely to wait more than one week to see their GP on 100 million occasions by 2020, new analysis from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has warned.
The RCGP warns that, if recent trends continue, the number of occasions when patients will have to wait longer than a week to see their GP will increase by more than 28 million, from just over 69 million occasions in 2015/16 to 98 million in 2020/21.
The group is urging the government to increase investment and expand GP staff numbers urgently, in order to protect patient safety.
Dr Maureen Baker, RCGP chair, said: “The fact that, on the current trajectory, patients will not be able to secure an appointment to see a GP at all on 60 million occasions is frankly flabbergasting.
"All the evidence shows that general practice is in crisis, and that crisis is worsening. However, having recognised the scale of the meltdown, the government, under David Cameron, announced plans to save general practice and help pay for a service that could consistently meet the needs of our patients.
"We now need a guarantee from the new Prime Minister, the new Chancellor and the Health Secretary that the NHS England General Practice Forward View will be delivered in full. This is an especially pressing issue given that so many voters in the EU referendum were swayed in their opinion by concerns about the NHS and particularly by worsening GP waiting times."
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