One in six patients waited MORE than two weeks for a GP appointment, new data shows

More than 4.8 million appointments took place more than a fortnight after appointments were made in May, as overwhelmed family physicians battle growing waiting lists

The South West of England has been the worst affected region, with one in five GP appointments taking place two weeks after being booked (

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One in six patients waited more than two weeks for a GP appointment, according to new figures.

More than 4.8 million appointments took place more than a fortnight after appointment was booked in May, as overwhelmed family physicians battle spiraling waiting lists.

That figure was up from 3.7million in the same month last year, according to the House of Commons Library's analysis of NHS figures.

The South West of England has been the worst affected region, with one in five (20%) GP appointments taking place two weeks after being booked during the year.

In London, one in 10 appointments (11%) were obtained after more than a fortnight.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said, "The Conservative government's neglect of our local health services has real consequences" (

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Gloucestershire (24.6%) and Dorset (23.6%) were the two worst regions for two-week waits in the country. This is more than double the 9.2% two-week wait in Liverpool, North East London (10.1%) and North East Lincolnshire (10.2%).

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey, whose party got the numbers, said: “The Conservative government's neglect of our local health services has real consequences for so many people. People unable to get a GP appointment are waiting in pain, anxious to know when they will get the care they deserve. »

Although Tory promises to recruit 5,000 more GPs in its 2015 manifesto and 6,000 more in its 2019 manifesto, there are now 2,000 fewer full-time, fully trained GPs than in 2015.

Liberal Democrats call for...