Over 13,000 patients in Milton Keynes waiting a month for a GP appointment

More people in Milton Keynes are waiting a month for a GP appointment than at any time since when records began in 2017, according to NHS data.

In Milton Keynes 13,550 people faced a wait of 28 days or more to see a GP in October alone. A further 28,664 people had to wait more than two weeks.

Almost two million people in England had to wait more than 28 days in October, while a further 4.3 million had to wait more than two weeks. At the same time, the number of GPs has fallen to a record low.

The findings come as the Labour Party plans to abolish the non-dom tax status, which allows some wealthy people who live in Britain to pay their taxes overseas, to pay for training a new generation of NHS staff. Labour’s plan would:

> Double the number of medical school places, training 15,000 new doctors a year

> Train 10,000 additional nurses and midwives every year

> Double the number of district nurses qualifying each year

> Train 5,000 new health visitors.

Labour’s plan will see patients guaranteed a face-to-face appointment with a GP if they want one. While some patients prefer to hold appointments over the phone, many are frustrated at not being able to see their doctor in person. One in seven people who try to speak to a nurse or GP were unable to get an appointment at all last year.

Labour is also pledging to bring back the family doctor, so patients can see the same GP each appointment if they choose to.

Labour’s Councillor Emily Darlington, Cabinet Member for Healthy Communities and Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Milton Keynes South, said:

“Patients in Milton Keynes are finding it impossible to see a GP when they need to. Among those thousands waiting more than a month or not getting an appointment at all, there will be conditions going undiagnosed until it is too late.

“Labour will train a new generation of doctors and nurses, paid for by abolishing non-doms. Patients need doctors’ appointments more than the wealthiest need a tax break. Patients should be able to see the doctor they want, in the manner they choose, when they need to.”