Labour politicians have claimed residents in Northumberland are finding it "harder and harder" to get an appointment with their GP.
NHS England figures showed that 174,295 people waited more than 28 days between booking their appointment and being seen by their GP in July 2022. It means that just over 4.1% of patients in the region waited more than 28 days for an appointment.
Of almost 4.2 million appointments, nearly 1.8 million were seen the same day. Just under 350,000 were seen the following day, while around 810,000 were seen between two and seven days.
More than 550,000 people waited between eight and 14 days, while 307,679 had a 15 to 21 day wait and just over 190,000 waited between 22 and 28 days.
The deputy leader of Northumberland Labour, Liz Simpson, blamed higher waiting times on the Government.
She said: "In 12 years of Conservative government we've seen the health service deteriorate at a time when people have never needed it more. In the county we're aware from contact with local people just how challenging it can be to see a doctor or nurse in their local practice when they need to.
“If people can't get to see their doctor, they often end up going to accident and emergency or, even worse, they try to get by at home when they should be getting help. A modern, rich country should have a health service to go with it.
"Under Labour waiting times and GP access were being continually improved. It speaks volumes that one of the first things to Tories did when they came into power in 2010 was cut the requirement for GPs to see patients within 48 hours.
“We all know that, if health problems can be spotted early the outcome is much better for the patient and in turn this puts less strain on hospital services. If anything we need more investment in general practice, not less.
“The Government is failing in its manifesto pledge to recruit more GPs. We pay tribute to our county’s GPs and practice staff who are doing a fantastic job in difficult circumstances but they need more resources to look after people in their local communities.”
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Improving patient access to general practice is a key priority. In July, general practice teams delivered 26 million appointments, including lifesaving Covid jabs. An increasing proportion of those appointments are face-to-face.
“At the same time, we are working hard to support and grow the GP workforce. There are nearly 1,500 more doctors working in general practice in June 2022 compared to the same time in 2019 – with 300 more doctors in general practice in the North East and Yorkshire alone. A record-breaking number of students started training as GPs last year.
“We made £520 million available to improve access and expand general practice capacity during the pandemic, in addition to at least £1.5 billion announced in 2020 to create an additional 50 million general practice appointments by 2024.”
Read next:
- Police launch investigation after teenage girl raped amid reports of a 'rave' in Bedlington park
- Reassurance after Britishvolt gigafactory at Cambois hit by six month delay
- 'Warm spaces' being set up across Northumberland amid energy price fears for the winter
- Darras Hall great gran 'snapped' and killed husband when he smiled at news of financial peril
- Foster children from Northumberland sent as far away as London and Bristol for care in the past decade
