287,316 waits of over a month for GP appointment in Teesside as the Lib Dems call for right to see GP within a week

There were 287,316 waits of a month or longer for a GP appointment in Teesside last year as Hartlepool Liberal Democrats has called for patients to be given a legal right to see their GP within a week, or 24-hours if in urgent need.

This data measures the time between booking an appointment and it taking place.

The research by the House of Commons Library, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, revealed a sharp spike in the number of waits of more than a month in the Tees Valley. In 2023 the figure stood at 247,483 but jumped by 16% to 287,316 last year.

It meant that last year, waits of a month or longer in Teesside accounted for 6.4% of all GP appointments.

Waits of two weeks or longer were also staggeringly high. There were 936,896 waits of two weeks or longer in 2024, up from 827,965 the previous year, a rise of 13%. Waits of two weeks or longer accounted for 20.9% of all waits in the Tees Valley in 2024.

Previous analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research has found that one in eight of those who could not get a GP appointment went to A&E instead. This places more pressure on emergency care, which has seen record long 12-hour A&E waits. Analysis of long A&E waits has suggested that they could have been responsible for 50,000 deaths last year.

The Liberal Democrats have urged the need for a legal right for patients to see a GP within seven days or 24-hours if in urgent need. Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to show more ambition in order to get patients in our area the care they deserve. Anything less will just prolong the misery.”

ENDS