131,010 four-week waits for a GP appointment in Buckinghamshire last year
Anja Schaefer draws attention to the unacceptable levels of GP waiting times in the County
Four-week waits for a GP appointment in Buckinghamshire reached 131,010 last year
This is a 44% increase on those waiting more than 28 days compared to 2022.
The number waiting 14 days or longer in Buckinghamshire saw a 23% increase from 2022.
Buckinghamshire saw a 44% rise in four-week waits for GP appointments last year when compared to 2022, House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.
The NHS data measures the time between when the appointment was booked and when it took place. It shows that the number of appointments that saw patients wait two weeks or longer in Buckinghamshire has spiked by 23% to 505,075 in 2023, up from 409,189 the previous year.
It means the proportion of appointments where a patient waited two weeks or longer in Buckinghamshire has risen to 17.1%, up from 14.7% in 2022.
Liberal Democrats in Buckinghamshire have criticised the Conservative government for letting the community down with their neglect of local health services.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for urgent action to reduce GP appointment times, so that patients can see a GP within seven days, or 24 hours if in urgent need, with a duty on the government and health services to make sure it happens. It would be achieved by increasing the number of GPs and increasing the number of nurses and pharmacists fully qualified to prescribe day to day medicines.
Commenting, Anja Schaefer, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Mid Buckinghamshire, said:
“Far too many people in Mid Buckinghamshire are struggling to get a GP appointment when they need one. This is what comes up time and again in our residents’ surveys and in my conversations with residents. It is causing people huge anxiety because they can't be confident any more of getting the care they need.
"GPs are working very hard to see as many people as possible, but they and our residents have been let down by Conservative underinvestment not just in GP services but in all areas of the NHS and in public health and care.
“Being able to see a GP when you need should not be too much to ask. That is why the Liberal Democrats are calling for urgent investment so that patients can see their GP within seven days or 24-hours if in urgent need.”
Source
This data is based on Liberal Democrat analysis of the underlying data from NHS Digital’s Appointments in General Practice December 2023 publication.
