Record 10.3 Million Face Four-Week Waits for GP Appointments
Liberal Democrats call for urgent reforms as NHS struggles with increasing patient backlog and GP shortages.
- New data reveals 10.3 million patients waited at least four weeks for a GP appointment in the first seven months of 2024.
- This figure marks a 1.7 million increase compared to the same period last year, indicating a worsening trend.
- The Liberal Democrats propose a legal right to see a GP within seven days, or 24 hours for urgent cases.
- Government commits to hiring an additional 1,000 GPs and increasing GP contract funding by £311 million in 2024-25.
- Healthcare professionals argue that arbitrary targets and insufficient GP numbers exacerbate the crisis, calling for more comprehensive solutions.
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