50,000 patients in Ealing waited seven days or longer to see a GP the last time they tried, an official NHS survey has found. 

15% of local patients faced a wait of a week or more when they phoned for an appointment in the last year. 

Labour has pledged to invest £100 million in GP surgeries – saved by scrapping David Cameron’s NHS market rules that waste millions on lawyers fees and contract tendering – to guarantee appointments within 48 hours or on the same day for those who need it. 

The annual NHS England survey, released earlier this month, also revealed that local patients struggle to see the family doctor of their choosing. 45% of patients who have a preferred GP had to see another doctor when they last went to their surgery. The next Labour Government will also give patients the right to book ahead with the GP they prefer to see. 

Dr Rupa Huq, Labour’s candidate in Ealing Central & Acton said: 

“David Cameron has made it harder for people in Ealing to get a GP appointment – proof he can’t be trusted with our local NHS.

“This is as the Tory-Lib Dem Government closes our local A&E units in and around Ealing -; where are people supposed to go to if they can’t get to a hospital or even a GP’s surgery? These reforms are utterly incomprehensible.” 

“Within days of the last election, he scrapped Labour’s appointments guarantee and now thousands of people here are waiting over a week. Labour will scrap David Cameron’s NHS market and invest the savings in helping people get a GP appointment within 48 hours or on the same day for those who need it.”  

Editor’s Note:

GP survey statistics – NHS England CCG Report (July 2014):  http://gp-survey-production.s3.amazonaws.com/archive/2014/July/weighted/July%202014%20CCG%20Report%20weighted.xls