91,000 people call 999 or turn to A&E after struggling to get GP appointment

EMBARGO: 22.30 Friday 5th April

An estimated 91,000 people called 999 or turned up to A&E after struggling to get a GP appointment, analysis of ONS figures from the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

The Office of National Statistics survey found that 0.6% of people said that the last time they contacted a GP practice, they ended up seeking urgent treatment including Accident and Emergency and 999 services. This is equivalent to around 91,500 people across the country. 

A further 180,000 had called 111 as ‘the GP practice could not help that day’. 1.3% of respondents said they ended up managing the issue themselves, equivalent to 204,500 people.

Overall, one in twelve people (8.5%) said they didn’t manage to make contact with a GP practice the last time they tried to, while another 11.5% said they only managed to make contact two or more days later. Almost one in three (31%) described contacting their GP practice as either difficult or very difficult.

It comes after recent research by the King’s Fund only a third of people said they were satisfied with GP services, the lowest level of satisfaction recorded since the survey began in 1983. 

The Liberal Democrats said the figures showed that ‘the GP crisis is piling pressure onto our hospitals and ambulance services ' and called for a legal right for people to see a GP within seven days, or 24-hours if in urgent need, with 8,000 more GPs to deliver on it.

Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

“These shocking figures show once again that the GP crisis is piling pressure onto our hospitals and ambulance services, as desperate patients resort to turning up at A&E or calling 999 instead.

“GPs act as the front door to the NHS, but for far too many people that door has been slammed shut after years of Conservative neglect. It is a national scandal and the consequences are devastating.

“Liberal Democrats will end this vicious cycle of decline, by getting 8,000 more GPs into the system to give people a legal right to see a GP within a week or 24 hours in urgent need.” 

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

Figures taken from Office of National Statistics data here (tabs 2, 3 and 5). The survey was conducted over a month-long period between 16 January and 15 February 2024. Figures on total numbers of people across the country are based on ONS ‘weighted count’ for each question.

King’s Fund Report can be found here.