Many patients unable to book GP appointments

A poll of 1.93 million people found that 21 per cent – around 400,000 – said it was not easy to get through on the phone to their GP surgery.

A further 38 per cent said it was fairly easy, while 31 per cent thought it was very easy.

There were big variations across Yorkshire, only 14 per cent in North Yorkshire saying it was not easy to get through compared with 30 per cent in Bradford.

The poll covering GP practices in England was carried out during 2010 for the Department of Health.

Of the 1.1 million people who had tried to see a doctor fairly quickly in the previous six months, 79 per cent had been able to do so.

But one in five could not, 83 per cent of those saying there were no appointments available.

Of more than 900,000 people who had tried to book ahead for an appointment, 71 per cent were able to do so but 26 per cent were not.

Again there were major differences in the region. In North Yorkshire and North East Lincolnshire, 77 per cent said they could book ahead but this fell to only 62 per cent in Bradford.

Some 30 per cent of patients said they waited too long to see an out-of-hours GP. But this ranged from 37 per cent in Calderdale to only 18 per cent in Doncaster.

Overall, nine out of 10 patients said they were satisfied with the care they received at their surgery and 83 per cent would recommend it to others.

Four in five patients were satisfied with the opening hours of their surgery, of which 41 per cent were very satisfied.

A separate report on dental services surveyed 478,600 adults.

Of 60 per cent of people who had tried to obtain an appointment with an NHS dentist in the previous two years, 93 per cent were successful but seven per cent did not get one.

Those who had tried most recently were more likely to have success in booking an appointment.

Paul Hodgkin, head of Patient Opinion, a Sheffield-based website for people to share their NHS stories, said patients should be given the opportunity to offer constructive criticism online “not just tick lots of boxes on an NHS form”.

He added: “While we welcome any survey that focuses on patient experience, I know from my career as a GP that the national patient survey could go a lot further in helping improve standards of care.”

Jo Webber, of the NHS Confederation which represents NHS trusts, said: “Patients need to be able to access their GP easily, otherwise there is a serious risk they will add to the already considerable pressures faced by accident and emergency departments and 999 services.

“This survey shows more needs to be done to ensure consistent access. One of the big uncertainties with the NHS reforms is whether the best GPs will be willing and able to get to grips with those who are performing less well.

“They will need to if they are going to get the best out of the £80bn they have to spend.”

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “Patients rightly have a strong sense of confidence and trust in their GPs, but GPs have not previously had the freedom to respond to patient needs appropriately.

“Instead of Government telling GPs what patients want, our modernisation plans will free GPs to make services more responsive to patients.

“GPs will be empowered to ensure patients get the care they need, when they need it, including out of hours care.”