3MILLION Brits couldn’t get through to their GP practice last month, survey suggests

One in ten Britons failed to reach the GP post last month, a study shows.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which surveyed 4,984 households, found that 10 percent failed to contact their practice the last time.

According to statisticians, this amounts to approximately 2.8 million people per month.

Data also shows that three in 10 Brits found it ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ to get into their practice.

Experts blamed the ‘intense workload and pressure on staff’ in GP practices and said the figure is ‘not surprising’.

The poll, conducted between October 18 and 29, found that 53 percent of respondents had contacted their practice in the past month.

65 percent of this group managed to get a response from their GP the same day, while 10 percent got through the next day and 15 percent eventually spoke to their practice two or more days later.

One in five said they found it ‘difficult’ to contact their practice, while 10 per cent said the process was ‘very difficult’.

About 45 percent received an appointment within two weeks 16 percent had to wait more than fourteen days. The same percentage got the help they needed over the phone and two percent called 911 instead.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, President of the Royal College of GPs, said: ‘GPs want our patients to receive safe, timely and appropriate care, so we share their frustrations and concerns when they have difficulty accessing our services.

‘But current access problems are not the fault of hardworking GPs doing their best in increasingly difficult circumstances.

‘It is worth noting that the majority of patients report a good experience after a visit to the GP practice.’

Professor Hawthorne said difficult access to GPs was ‘symptomatic of a much bigger problem’. She blamed an “intense workload” and “pressure on staff”, as well as a lack of funding and poor workforce planning.

Dr. Adam Janjua, a GP in Lancashire who is part of the Rebuild General Practice campaign, said: ‘Although the numbers reported by the ONS are small, it is not surprising that some patients have had difficulty reaching their GP.

‘GPs have been telling politicians for years that we need to rebuild general practice. We want to be able to see our patients and provide the care they need.

‘But decades of neglect have destroyed the entire system. We don’t have enough doctors to treat our patients.

‘GPs are leaving the profession en masse and practices are closing all over the United Kingdom. We need urgent action and strong commitments now to rebuild the broken system.”

The latest performance data from NHS England shows that there were around 31 million appointments in September, with fewer than four in 10 taking place on the same day a patient contacted their practice.

A quarter of patients had to wait up to a week, while 13 percent waited between seven and 14 days and 22 percent were seen between 14 days and a month later.

Of all appointments, seven in ten were face-to-face, a quarter by telephone and approximately two percent were video calls.

In August, officials confirmed that the phone systems of more than 1,000 GP practices would be upgraded by the spring to end the ‘8-hour battle’ for appointments.

The £240 million scheme is part of the government’s Primary Care Recovery Plan, which aims to make it easier and faster for patients to contact their GP.

An NHS England spokesperson said: ‘NHS staff are working hard to meet increased demand and GPs are making half a million more appointments every week than before the pandemic – almost a quarter more than the year before.

‘In line with our commitment to restore access to primary care, the NHS published a plan earlier this year, which includes upgrading telephone systems to make it easier for people to contact their GP practice, while since In 2019, more than 31,000 additional employees joined GP teams. to deliver even more appointments.’