GP Appointments: New health secretary makes same-day pledge to increase available appointments

Following the appointment of the new Health Secretary Thérèse Coffey, she has made the pledge to improve access to GPs, including same day appointments where there is need for them.

Studies from both 2020 and 2021 have shown that the estimated number of appointments by month has continued to decrease, which is the likely reason for the health secretary’s recent announcement.

Despite the announcement, GP leaders have said that this is going to have minimal impact on accessibility in the UK and the Government are “lumbering a struggling service with more expectations”.

The pledge may have the opposite effect to that was is desired and cause GP’s to rush appointments meaning that patients may be left with a lack of care, potential misdiagnosis’ and potential delays in treatment.

It has been said that the key to improving access will be the recruitment of extra staff. However, with so few people training to become a General Practitioner in recent years, GP Surgeries are struggling to recruit to accommodate for the pledged rise in appointments.

Lack of appointments leading to medical negligence

The significant lack of appointments in recent years has led to patients across the country have expressed their concerns that accessibility is declining, and many are struggling to obtain an appointment.

The inaccessibility to appointments has led to individuals having to go A&E for a diagnosis. One patient had given up trying to obtain a GP appointment and attended A&E, where after a 15 hour wait, was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia.

As shown with the above example, the lack of appointments is leading to delays in referrals for further management of conditions. Where there are delays in referrals and management, this in turn leads to a delay in treatment.

Medical delays can severely affect an individual’s life, treatment options, recovery period and in more serious circumstances the chance of survival.

Delays can occur in diagnosing any medical condition, however very common medical conditions include:

• Orthopaedic issues
• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Infections

Where there are significant delays in diagnosing a patient, this can sometimes lead to significant consequences. For example, where a GP Surgery has delayed a referral to an Oncologist for further intervention where cancer is suspected, the cancer may have progressed to a higher stage.

If you feel that you have suffered harm as a result of any delay in diagnosis and treatment, you may be eligible to make a medical negligence claim.

Further reading

Medical misdiagnosis or delay – Oakwood Solicitors

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