Almost eight million people in England waited more than a month to see their GP this autumn, damning new figures show.
The total is around 300,000 higher than at the same point last year, piling fresh pressure on the Government and adding to growing evidence that the NHS is buckling under Labour.
The figures come on top of other stark warnings about the state of the health service. Data published at the start of December revealed a record 57 A&E arrivals were diverted to other hospitals in a single week.
November also saw the highest number of A&E attendances ever recorded, with more than 75,000 people a day rushing to emergency departments.
Yet just seven in ten patients were seen within four hours – well short of the NHS target.
Last week, a major report found that a lack of NHS dentists meant patients were resorting to pulling out their own teeth, being forced to travel more than 100 miles to find a practitioner, or calling the NHS 111 helpline out of desperation.
And an increasing number of cancer patients are going private or raiding their savings to pay for life-saving chemotherapy while the NHS continues to miss treatment targets.
According to data from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN),between April and June this year, there were more than 18,500 privately funded chemo appointments, a 1.7 per cent increase over the same period in 2024.
The NHS has missed its two main cancer targets this year, with just two-thirds of patients receiving a diagnosis and first treatment within 62 days after an urgent referral.
Long waits for a GP appointment have soared under Labour with 300,000 more people waiting over a month to be seen this autumn compared to a year ago.
A total of 7.6million patients faced a delay of more than four weeks across September, October and November, up 312,112 (4.2 per cent) on the same months in 2024.
It means one in every 13 appointments (7.5 per cent) followed a wait of this length, while one in every five (20.9 per cent) took place at least two weeks after they were booked.
Latest data shows 1,770,148 people waited over a month for a GP appointment in November, which is 246,625 higher than when Labour took office in July last year.
It follows the worst October for month-long waits since records began.
Every region in England has recorded a significant increase in the number of patients waiting over two weeks and four weeks for appointments since Labour took power.
The South West is the worst hit region, with an increase of 53,000 more patients (23.7 per cent) waiting over four weeks for an appointment.
Almost eight million people in England waited more than a month to see their GP this autumn, damning new figures show
Health secretary Wes Streeting branded waits of two weeks or more to see a family doctor as ‘unacceptable’ when in opposition.
However, booking an appointment for two weeks’ or four weeks’ time does not necessarily mean there was not an earlier appointment available.
People may be booking ahead for a follow-up appointment or scheduling regular routine checks for a long-term condition.
The data shows the time between booking and being seen and does not indicate when the patient wanted an appointment.
The number of GP appointments has increased generally and the percentage occurring at two weeks and four weeks is largely unchanged year on year.
Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, which campaigns for elderly patients, said: ‘Far from the Government improving access to GPs as promised, this research shows that our longstanding call for a legal right to a timely doctor’s appointment is now a necessity.
‘Labour should be thoroughly ashamed of these figures, which brutally expose the claims of Wes Streeting that the NHS has turned a corner and is improving.
‘Many older patients find it almost impossible to see a doctor these days, and on most occasions they have to trust a less qualified member of staff to make an initial diagnosis.
‘The number of patients waiting to see their doctor who die, or have to use ambulances to get to A and E, before they are lucky enough to see their GP, would be another compelling piece of research.’
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘These figures are being misrepresented as requests for ‘urgent’ appointments but include long term condition reviews and follow-up appointments which are often booked well in advance to suit patients.
‘Over the past 16 months, this government has invested an extra £1.1 billion into primary care, recruited an extra 2,500 GPs, and halved the number of targets so GPs spend less time box ticking and more time caring for patients.
‘As a result, patient satisfaction with general practice has improved after a decade of decline.
‘GP teams have delivered 6.5 million more appointments in the last 12 months up from 378.2 million to 384.7 million with 2025 set to be a record year.’
