Average wait times for GP appointments ‘set to rise considerably’

Patients may be forced to wait longer than ever before for GP appointments in the coming years, according to a new report.

A study from Pulse magazine has surveyed 830 GPs, revealing that waiting times for routine appointments have increased to around 13 days – up from ten days in 2015. With demand on the rise and GP recruitment efforts stalling, it is predicted this could get even worse.

Indeed, the survey indicated that GPs would have to spend four hours a week longer seeing patients by 2022 just to keep up with demand, due to increases in the size of the population and the fact that patients are generally having a greater amount of contact with GPs.

Although last year health secretary Jeremy Hunt pledged to increase the number of GPs in the workforce by 5,000, overall numbers are yet to reflect a significant change.

The British Medical Association (BMA) noted that the government is also yet to make notable progress on its aims to tackle inappropriate use of GP services, having determined that one in four GP appointments is likely to be avoidable.

BMA GP committee chair Chaand Nagpaul said: "Unless the government takes decisive action, waits to see a GP will rocket to several weeks in the coming years as patient demand continues to rise, and will seriously compromise patient care."

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