Millions in UK Struggle to Access GP Services, Report Reveals
A report by the Liberal Democrats has highlighted significant challenges faced by patients in the UK trying to access general practitioner (GP) services, Anadolu Agency reported yesterday.
In December alone, over one million patients were unable to contact their GPs, raising alarm over primary healthcare accessibility.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that 4.8 million individuals could not reach their GP on the same day they attempted to do so. Additionally, approximately 2.2 million patients experienced delays of several days for appointments, while more than 1.1 million were completely unable to access their NHS GP during the month.
Fewer than half of those who secured appointments had face-to-face consultations, with over 100,000 patients advised to self-manage their conditions. Jess Brown-Fuller, the Liberal Democrats’ spokeswoman for hospitals and primary care, emphasized the urgency of addressing the crisis, stating, “Millions of people are being forced to wait in pain for weeks just to get a GP appointment.”
In response, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care announced plans to recruit 1,000 additional GPs and proposed an £889 million ($1.12 billion) funding package to improve primary care services, aiming to reinstate the family doctor system for consistent patient care.
