Lib Dems call for legal right to see a GP within 7 days as millions of patients face delay

4 Nov 2022

EMBARGO: Immediate release

Ed Davey announces plans to give patients a legal right to see their GP within a week, or within 24 hours if in urgent need.
New figures reveal a stark postcode lottery with one in four people in some areas waiting over two weeks for a GP appointment
Lib Dem Leader says the Govt must increase recruitment and retention of GPs, introduce a 24/7 booking line and cut bureaucracy to free up appointments

The Liberal Democrats have set out plans to give patients a legal right to see a GP within seven days, or within 24 hours if in urgent need.

The policy would be enshrined into law in the NHS constitution, putting a duty on the government and health service to make sure it happens. The policy is set to be announced by Ed Davey at a major Autumn speech he is giving this weekend. It would be achieved through increasing training places for GPs, fixing pension rules to prevent so many doctors retiring early, and launching a recruitment drive to encourage those who’ve left the NHS to return.

It comes as research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed a stark postcode lottery in GP appointment times, with over one in four patients in some parts of the country waiting over two weeks to see their doctor.

Analysis commissioned by the party from the House of Commons Library shows that there were five million GP appointments in England with waits of over 14 days in September 2022, making up 17.9% of the total. This is a significant increase from 11.9% of appointments with waits of more than two weeks at the start of the year.

Chorley and South Ribble in Lancashire had the highest proportion of appointments with waits of over two weeks in September at 25.5%. This was followed by Gloucestershire (25.2%), Derbyshire (25.1%), Stafford and the surrounding area (24.9%) and Dorset (24.9%). Every area in the country has seen a rise in waits of over two weeks since January 2022.

At the last election in 2019, the Conservatives promised to recruit 6,000 more GPs – but the number of qualified GPs has actually fallen by more than 500 since then.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“Far too many people are struggling to get a GP appointment when they need one, leaving them waiting anxiously for the care they deserve.

“This can lead to missed or delayed diagnoses, or people turning in desperation to our overstretched A&E departments instead.

“Patients are suffering from years of neglect under the Conservatives, who have repeatedly broken their promise to recruit more GPs.

“Liberal Democrats would guarantee people a right to a GP appointment within one week, or within 24 hours if they are in urgent need. This would reduce pressure on our hospitals and paramedics, saving crucial time and money elsewhere in the NHS.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor

Full data from the House of Commons Library is available here, showing the number of people in England waiting over two weeks for an appointment broken down by local area (CCG) and by region.

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to recruit an 8,000 extra GPs to deliver 65 million more appointments a year. This would be done by:

Increasing training places for GPs and medical school places across the country.
Making it more attractive for junior doctors to become GPs once they’ve been trained, including career development and training programmes.
Helping experienced GPs to stay in the profession, including by fixing the broken NHS pension rules.
Launching a scheme to encourage GPs and nurses who’ve left the NHS to return.

The Liberal Democrats are also calling for the setting up of a 24/7 GP appointment booking hotline, so people can make an appointment whenever they need to. Those who want to see their doctor face-to-face would be able to choose to do so if they wanted to.

Regional Breakdown:

In Yorkshire 587,940 appointments had a wait of over two weeks to see a GP in September 2022, making up 19.7% of all appointments, the third worst in the country.
In the North East 255,944 appointments had a wait of over two weeks to see a GP in September, making up 18.2% of all appointments.
In the North West, 636, 609 appointments had a wait of over two weeks to see a GP in September, making up 17.6% of all appointments
In the West Midlands, 357,833 appointments had a wait of over two weeks to see a GP last month, making up 14.6% of all appointments
In the East Midlands 612,544 appointments had a wait of over two weeks to see a GP in September, making up 20.6% of all appointments, the second worst in the country.
In the East of England 610,321 appointments had a wait of over two weeks to see a GP in September, making up 19.0% of all appointments
In the South East (and south central) 827,368 people were left waiting over two weeks to see a GP in September, making up 19.2% of all appointments
In the South West 655,663 appointments had a wait of over two weeks to see a GP in September. This made up 21.6% of all appointments, the worst in the country.
In London 503,781 appointments had a wait of over two weeks to see a GP in September, making up 11.9% of all appointments