Layla Moran from Lib Dems slams 'shocking' GP waiting times

More than 150,000 patients across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire waited more than two weeks to see a GP in April 2024, new research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

The figures show that in April, 156,312 people in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire waited for more than two weeks to see their GP, making up 17.8 per cent of all those who booked a GP appointment.

In March 2024, 15.8 per cent of people who booked a GP appointment had to wait more than two weeks.

This shows an increase in the proportion of people waiting longer to see a GP. 

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According to the figures, 40,716 waited for over a month in April 2024, 4.6 per cent of all GP appointments.

This was again an increase from the 3.8 per cent of patients who had to wait over a month to see a GP in March.

New figures have been released on GP services

Nationally, nearly 5.5 million people had to wait over two weeks for a GP appointment this April and over 1.66 million people had to wait for a month.

Oxfordshire’s Liberal Democrats have criticised the Conservative government for letting the community down with their neglect of local health services and have called for a weighting for GPs salaries in areas outside London with high living costs.

The party is calling on the government to deliver 8,000 extra GPs and 65 million more appointments a year by increasing training places for GPs and medical school places across the country and launching a scheme to encourage GPs and nurses who’ve left the NHS to return.

Ms Moran, parliamentary candidate for Oxford West and Abingdon, has warned that the government’s failure to recruit more GPs means patients are “waiting for weeks to get an appointment”.

Responding to the figures, Ms Moran said: “Doctors and nurses are doing their best in incredibly difficult circumstances, but years of neglect under the Conservatives has driven local health services into the ground.

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“The government’s failure to recruit more GPs has meant the backlogs and appointment delays have only become worse.

“Behind these statistics are patients anxiously waiting for an appointment, worrying about their symptoms.

“Patients and doctors deserve better than this. Oxfordshire’s Liberal Democrats have a plan to boost GP numbers so people get the care they deserve.”

Ms Moran will be standing for the Lib Dems in the general election on July 4 against Conservatives' Vinay Raniga, Labour's Stephen Webb, Green's Cheryl Briggs, and Reform UK's, James Gunn.

The Oxford Mail has contacted the Conservative party for West Oxfordshire and Abingdon for comment.