624,337 waits of over a month for a GP appointment in Devon as Liberal Democrat MPs call for right to see GP within a week

There were 624,337 waits of a month or longer for a GP appointment in Devon last year, prompting the county’s Liberal Democrat MPs to call for patients to be given a legal right to see 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 Devon. In 2023, the figure stood at 554,027 but jumped by 13% to 624,337 last year.

It meant that last year, waits of a month or longer in Devon accounted for 6.7% of all GP appointments.

Waits of two weeks or longer were also staggeringly high. There were 1.9 million waits of two weeks or longer in 2024, up from 1.7 million the previous year, a rise of 12%. Waits of two weeks or longer accounted for 20.4% of all waits in Devon 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.

Devon’s Liberal Democrat MPs said 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.

To resolve the crisis, the Liberal Democrats are urging the government to reverse its misguided rise in employer national insurance contributions for primary care providers.

They argue this tax rise will only exacerbate the pre-existing recruitment crisis in primary care by making it more expensive for GP practices to hire the extra doctors desperately needed to reduce wait times.

In a statement, Liberal Democrat MPs from across Devon said:

“Behind every one of these figures is someone in Devon who has had to wait in pain to get the care they deserve.

“It lays bare just how badly the Conservatives broke health services here in Devon through their unforgivable neglect. And, as with dentistry, water, and social care, the Labour government is now showing an inexcusable lack of urgency in fixing the crisis, opting for review after review instead of delivering results for people in Devon.

"We need to see a legal right for patients to see their local GP within seven days, or within 24 hours for urgent cases. The Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to show greater ambition in ensuring those across Devon receive the timely healthcare they deserve. Anything short of this will only prolong the current struggles faced by our communities.”