Responding to news from the Royal College of GP’s that 34million patients will fail to get an appointment with a GP in 2014, Andy Burnham, Shadow Health Secretary, said:

“Within days of taking office, David Cameron scrapped Labour’s guarantee that all patients shou​ld be able to get a GP appointment within two working days. In December, Labour called on the Government to reverse this decision but Tory MPs voted against. It is one of the reasons why A&E departments are now under such pressure. 

"Ministers have cut primary care budgets by close to a billion since the election and taken away the funding that kept surgeries open into the evening and at weekends. Now, almost 1000 surgeries across England shut their doors earlier than a few years ago.

"On David Cameron’s watch, it has got harder for people to get GP appointments. Patients call the surgery early in the morning only to be told nothing is available for days. It is unacceptable and Ministers must take practical steps to make sure patients can see their GP when they need to." 

Ends   Editor’s Note:    1. http://www.rcgp.org.uk/news/2014/february/34m-patients-will-fail-to-get-appointment-with-a-gp-in-2014.aspx