Month-long waits for GP appointments increase by 250,000 since Labour took office

EMBARGO: 22:30 Sunday 28th December 2025

• Latest data shows 1,770,148 people had to wait over a month for a GP appointment in November. This is 246,625 higher than when Labour took office in July last year. It follows the worst October for month-long waits since records began.
• 7.6 million patients had to wait more than 4 weeks to see a GP over the autumn (between September and November), up by more than 300,000 since the same period last year. 1 in 5 (21%) of patients had to wait at least two weeks.
• The Liberal Democrats say the figures represent a “damning failure” by the Labour government, and are calling for a GP rescue package, to ensure patients can see a GP within 7 days or 24 hours if urgent.

Shocking data analysed by the Liberal Democrats reveals in the 18 months since Labour took power, hundreds of thousands more people are now waiting over a month for a GP appointment.

Every region in England has recorded a significant increase in the number of patients waiting over 2 weeks and 4 weeks for appointments since Labour took power. The South West was the worst hit region, with a 53,000 - 23.7% - increase in the number of patients having to wait over 4 weeks for an appointment.

In Northamptonshire there has been a shocking 47% increase in those waiting more than a month. Some of the other trusts recording the steepest rises in 4 week waits were NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (46%) followed by NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire (40.7%).

Liberal Democrats are campaigning for a GP rescue package, to end the crisis affecting practices and patients. They would introduce a new legal right to see a GP within seven days, or 24 hours if urgent, by recruiting and retaining 8,000 more doctors. The package would also see a new dedicated fund to open surgeries in areas that have lost GPs or seen new development, and allow people to book a GP appointment 24/7 via 111.

Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson, Helen Morgan MP, said:

“Nobody should be forced to wait over a month to see their GP, and yet millions of people across the country are being left waiting anxiously, in pain or needing treatment. In desperation, many people are having to turn to our overwhelmed A&Es to be seen.

“GP services were left teetering on the edge by the Conservatives, but the fact that waits have worsened represents a damning failure by the Labour government too.

“Liberal Democrats would breathe life back into our GP services, with a new legal right for every patient to be seen within seven days or 24 hours if urgent, so that no one is denied care when they need it.

“If this crisis is allowed to fester, the price for our NHS and for patients will be devastating.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

Data can be found here