Less than half of patients receive face-to-face GP appointments, new data suggests.
Of those who manage to get an in-person appointment, a fifth wait more than two weeks.
What’s more, around 2,000 people were unable to contact their GP when seeking medical help, i.e.Signs of life-threatening illnesses may not have been controlled.
The data, compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), is based on the recent health service experience of more than 95,000 people in England.
The findings paint a bleaker picture than recently published figures collected by GP surgeries.
According to this monthly data, published in September and based on practice performance reports, 65.5 per cent of all appointments in September took place face-to-face.
And although new data indicates that only 33.3 per cent of patients can see the doctor on the same day they call, GP surgeries report this figure is almost half.
The survey of more than 100,000 people found that of the 95,468 who tried to contact their GP, a fifth were unable to contact their GP that day.
Two in five (39.9 percent) reported that they did nothing to fix their condition and 32.2 percent said they did “something else.”
Of patients surveyed about their experiences with GP surgeries over the past month, a fifth said they received what they needed online or via a telephone appointment.
The data, which is collected monthly using an online form, surveyed a representative sample of people aged 16 and over in England.
Patients have long expressed frustration over timely access to GP appointments, especially when it comes to in-person appointments.
Campaign group Silver Voices has previously argued that older people who feel uncomfortable disclosing personal medical problems over the internet may risk missing important red flags.
But GPs say they are overwhelmed due to the pressures of a growing and aging population, a lack of government funding and a shortage of doctors.
It comes after more than 98 per cent of GPs in England backed the British Medical Association’s (BMA) strike proposal to set a limit of 25 appointments per day per GP.
Helen Morgan MP and Liberal Democrat health and social care spokesperson argued that the country’s primary care services are “at breaking point”.
“Patients are left completely out of options and instead let their problems worsen when they can’t get the care they need,” he said.
He added: ‘The blame for this shocking situation lies squarely with the Conservative Party, whose years of shameful negligence have destroyed our NHS.
‘It is now up to the new government to rise to this challenge and rescue our health service.
“That’s why it’s so disappointing to see that instead of supporting our GPs, they’re putting even more pressure on them with the increase in social security.”
“The new government urgently needs to rethink these proposals, remove the GP penalty and give patients the care they deserve.”
The national insurance increase is expected to cost practices around £40,000 and could leave surgeries feeling the squeeze.
Doctors say they will be forced to reduce their staff if they are not exempt from the tax increase.
Responding to the ONS survey, Ruth Rankine, director of primary care at the NHS Confederation, said: “Improvements can be made to address the significant proportion of patients who are dissatisfied and find it difficult to access their consultations.”
‘These results show that despite the current financial pressures and staffing crisis, GPs and their teams are still managing to keep the majority of their patients happy.
‘Primary care is facing record demand, with millions more appointments than before the pandemic.
“But with the sector facing potentially unfunded cost pressures and fears that increased employers’ national insurance could have a huge impact on surgeries, it remains vital that primary care provides the right support it needs. to keep patients safe and satisfied.