Council called on to back one-week GP waiting times
Pendle councillors are being urged to support a call for a maximum wait of seven days for anyone in the area to see a GP, backed by a recruitment and retention drive to tackle the national shortage of NHS doctors and other practitioners.
The call comes from West Craven’s Lib Dem councillors after new figures reveal lengthening waiting times across the UK amid reports that the situation is far worse locally.
Councillor Chris Church said: “The number of patients having to wait over 14 days has risen by half since 2020, and those waiting over 28 days have gone up by two thirds.
“This is quite unacceptable at any time but now, with the coldest winter weather expected any time soon, things are only going to get worse and research shows that GP waits will reach a record high by the end of the cold season.”
Councillor Bryony Hartley added that the area’s problems go far beyond waiting times.
“According to the Royal College of GPs, nearly three-quarters of GPs now say patient safety is compromised by their workload.” she said.
“At the same time, neighbourhood health services in West Craven are virtually non-existent, with people requiring health checks, attending clinics or needing treatment having to routinely travel out of area to access services, while the so-called Newtown 'Clinic' in Barnoldswick remains virtually empty.”
The West Craven group of Councillors are calling on Pendle Council to write to the Secretary of State for Health and MP Jonathan Hinder to convey the council’s deep concerns about these matters and to support the principle of a maximum seven-day wait for GP appointments and two days for anything more urgent.
They are also asking for all GPs in Pendle to be surveyed to give their own insights into the pressures GP surgeries and patients are under at their own practices.