One in 10 faces three-week wait for GP appointment

Health bosses said the primary care system faced "tremendous pressure"

Almost one in 10 people who booked appointments with East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire GPs faced waits of more than three weeks in February.

NHS stats showed 9.7% of people waited longer than 22 days to be seen - higher than the national average of 8.8%.

The Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) said primary care was under "tremendous pressure", with 40,000 more appointments made in East Yorkshire compared with February last year.

Dr Amanda Doyle, NHS England’s primary care director, said GPs were working hard to reduce waiting times but there was "more to do".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, 30.4 million GP appointments took place across the NHS in England in February.

Nationally, 2.7 million patients had to wait more than 22 days from the time they booked to their appointments taking place.

The ICB said it was on track for 85% of patients to be seen within two weeks of contacting their practice.

A spokesperson said: "GP practices face a growing and increasingly complex workload and are working harder than ever before as a result.

"Our practices continue to support urgent demand, with 40% of patients being seen on the same day.

"People can now also get treatment for common conditions directly from their local pharmacy, without the need for a GP appointment or prescription."

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