Recent analysis of GP waiting times shows that over 5 million monthly patients aren’t being seen within the government target of 14 days.
Government Promise Made in 2022
In the post-COVID era, when the NHS was hugely overwhelmed, then-health secretary Thérèse Coffey promised to prioritise enabling patients to see a GP within 14 days with a “laser-like focus.”
61M Times Targets Were Missed
A House of Commons library analysis of NHS data from 2023 shows that around 61 million appointments were only fulfilled more than two weeks after being made.
22% Increase in Missed Target vs 2022
The figures show that 60,905,102 patients waited longer than the expected 14 days for a GP appointment in 2023 – 22% higher than the 49,862,465 figure for 2022.
GPs Completely Overwhelmed
Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “The average number of patients per GP in England is now an eye-watering 2,290, meaning each GP is responsible for 147 more patients than in December 2019.”
Lib Dems Leading the Criticism
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: “Patients are bearing the brunt of this failure with millions forced to wait in pain for weeks just to get a GP appointment. It is an unacceptable situation and one that is only getting worse after years of Conservative chaos and neglect.”
NHS Impacted at Local and National Levels
His attack continued: “This Conservative government has decimated local health services and brought the NHS to its knees.”
Funding Levels Under Fire
Davey then rounded on the funding, saying: “It is unforgivable that the Conservative government has slashed funding for GP practices at a time of rising demand. The Conservative party’s record on the NHS is one of total neglect and failure. Rishi Sunak is completely out of touch with patients struggling to get the care they need.”
Lib Dems Leading Election Campaign With NHS
Ed Davey said: “The Liberal Democrats would give people a legal right to see a GP in a week or 24-hours if in urgent need, so people aren’t ever left struggling to get an appointment.”
Promises to Fix Health and Care
He wants to make the NHS an election priority. He continued, saying, “This is at the heart of our offer to voters at this election and our plan to fix the health and care crisis.”
Many Patients Are Waiting Over a Month
The analysis of the NHS data shows that in 2023, around 18m GP appointments had waits of a month or more. This is a year after there was a “laser-like focus” on getting them to 14 days, apparently.
Problem Getting Worse
The most concerning element of the figures is that 18 million month-or-longer waits is a 38% rise from the number of 28-day waits or longer in 2022. It seems that the longer the government has to fix the problems, the less of a priority they become.
Sunak Criticised on NHS Record
Wes Streeting, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, told Rishi Sunak, “After 14 years of Conservative incompetence, neglect and vandalism, the National Health Service has never been in a worse state.”
Labour Concerned Tories Will Kill the NHS
Streeting continued: “Sunak has called this election with no plan to cut waiting lists, no plan to end the strikes and no plans to reform the service. The Conservatives have taken the NHS to breaking point, if they are given five more years they will finish the job.”
Tories Defending Their Record
Victoria Atkins, the health secretary, defended the Tory record on the NHS. She said, “We are very proud of it. I’m particularly proud of the fact that we have record funding under the government for mental and physical health.”
Funding Isn’t Getting to the Right Areas
The Health Service Journal reported that the percentage of the total NHS budget that goes to GPs had fallen to its lowest level since 2015-16, at a measly 8.4%. This is even though GPs and GP practices provide almost 90% of patient care.
Government Disputes Funding Measures
The Department of Health and Social Care said, “We are committed to improving access to GPs and are now delivering 50m more GP appointments annually. The most recent data shows GP funding increased in real terms by 19% between 2017 and 2022, and our primary care recovery plan is investing £645m to expand pharmaceutical services and take pressure off general practice.”
Funding Isn’t Leading to Efficiencies
Even if the government were right, the service still has a huge issue when 61 million appointments per year aren’t fulfilled within a 14-day window.
Tories Can’t Use NHS as a Success Story in the Election
With record public dissatisfaction with the NHS and the longest waiting times on record, the Tories won’t be able to use their record as NHS stewards to encourage votes in this election.
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