New data published by the NHS reveals that 12,680 people are having to wait a month to see a GP in Milton Keynes.
The figures, which show wait times in January 2023, also highlighted that a further 19,546 local people were waiting more than two weeks to see a GP.
Across the country, the number of qualified GPs has fallen to a record low. There are just 0.44 fully qualified GPs per 1,000 patients in England.
In 2020, the Government promised to recruit an additional 6,000 GPs by 2024 but figures show that we have 2,000 fewer GPs than in 2015. This has had a devastating impact on the healthcare system, with GP practices suffering immense strain due to rapidly declining GP numbers, rising demands and struggles with staff recruitment and retention.
Councillor Emily Darlington, Cabinet Member for Healthy Communities, said:
“There just aren’t enough GPs and people are getting sicker as they wait for appointments. This puts pressure on a desperately short-staffed NHS after a decade of underfunding and local people are suffering the consequences. Residents should be able to see the doctor they want, in the manner they choose, when they need to. Under the Conservative Government that’s just not happening.”
CMK Ward Councillor Moriah Priestley, who is also Chair of the Health and Adult Social Care Committee on Milton Keynes City Council, added:
“The NHS is currently on its knees after a decade of neglect by this Government. It means that far too many patients in Milton Keynes cannot see a GP when they need to, and we are faced with the sad reality that conditions will be going undiagnosed until it’s too late.”
The NHS has proposed that the Government adopt Labour’s plan to double medical school places, but the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, is currently refusing to fund it.
Labour also pledges to create 10,000 new nursing and midwifery placements each year, double the number of district nurses qualifying each year, provide 5,000 new health visitors, ensure that patients can get a face-to-face appointment with a GP, and bring back the family doctor so patients can see the same GP each appointment if they choose to.
Labour would pay for the plans by abolishing non-dom tax status, which allows some of the mega-rich to avoid paying tax in the UK.