Shropshire worst in the country for increase in GP waiting times
The number of patients waiting more than a month to see a GP in the county has more than doubled in the last five years, new data has revealed.
The jump to nearly 100,000 people at practices in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin represents the highest increase in longer wait times for an appointment in the whole of England.
Since January, 92,236 appointments in the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin area have been subject to waits of over 28 days, up from just 27,482 at the same point five years ago.
The stark figures have led to a county MP to call on the Government for an emergency package of measure to “save the family GP”.
Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire, said: “Being crowned the worst area in the country for long appointment wait times will be a bitter pill to swallow for residents and I’m appalled they are having to wait such a long time to see a doctor.
“The struggle to see a GP has been normalised – instead, it should be treated as a national crisis. If the Labour government does not act with urgency, general practice will be pulled apart at the seams.”
Helen, who is also Liberal Democrat spokesperson for health and social care, said that she and her party colleagues were calling for an emergency package to save GP services, with a dedicated fund to reopen surgeries, a 24/7 booking system via 111 with the right to a GP appointment within seven days, or 24 hours if urgent, and a recruitment and retention drive to secure thousands of extra family doctors.
The MP added: “The Conservatives completely failed our NHS, but Labour are just not providing any real answers to this ever-growing crisis. They are refusing to treat the underlying sickness of disintegrating general practice and a social care system on its knees.
“Waiting weeks to see a doctor when you’re sick, worried, or in pain should be unheard of. Waiting over a month, as so many are across Shropshire, is clearly dangerous.”
The data from the House of Commons Library and commissioned by the Liberal Democrats also found that there has been a 121% increase in patients waiting over 14 days for a GP appointment since the same period in 2020 across England, rising from 19.7 million appointments that took this long to 43.5 million appointments, a record high.
There has been a 123% increase for those waiting over 28 days, from 5.8 million five years ago to 12.9 million today.
