287,000 Wait Over a Month for GP in Tees Valley as Redcar & Cleveland Lib Dems Demand One-Week Guarantee

There were 287,316 waits of a month or longer for a GP appointment in the Tees Valley last year as the Liberal Democrats in Redcar & Cleveland call for patients to be given a legal right to consult 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 the Tees Valley 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.

Lib Dem Spokesperson, Henry Wain, said that the figures laid bare how badly the Conservatives had broken local health services and criticised the Labour government for their “inexcusable” lack of urgency in fixing this crisis.

Liberal Democrat Campaigner in Redcar & Cleveland, Henry Wain, said:

“Behind these figures are individuals in our community who have had to wait in pain just to get the care they deserve, with potentially devastating consequences.

“It lays bare just how badly the Tories let the NHS down by falling asleep at the wheel. And despite their pledges to cut waiting time, this chaotic Labour government is now showing an inexcusable lack of urgency in fixing this crisis, opting for review after review instead of delivering action for people in our area.

"The Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to show real ambition and deliver the care people in our community need and deserve—by enshrining a legal right for patients to consult a GP within seven days, or within 24 hours in urgent cases. Anything less will only deepen the crisis and prolong patients’ suffering- and make it more difficult for those concerned by their symptoms to access help."

ENDS

Contact: hello@rclibdems.org.uk