HUNDREDS of patients are waiting weeks to see a GP in north Essex, as the NHS reveals more than a third of appointments take place after more than 24 hours.

NHS Digital has published data from GP surgeries across the country based on appointments seen in February this year, the latest data which is available.

Across the Colchester and Tendring districts, 63,130 appointments were seen by GPs in February.

Almost 41,000 of these took place within 24 hours of patients contacting their GP surgery, including more than 36,000 on the same day.

But a whopping 35 per cent of appointments took place after at least two days, including 1,669 which were booked more than 28 days in advance.

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The data revealed a huge disparity between practices where patients are waiting more than four weeks to be seen.

East Hill Surgery in Colchester, for example, where GPs completed 2,472 appointments in February, was among the five surgeries where no appointments were booked more than 28 days in advance.

Gazette: East Hill Surgery was among the five surgeries in Colchester and Tendring where no patients waited more than 28 days to see a GP in FebruaryEast Hill Surgery was among the five surgeries in Colchester and Tendring where no patients waited more than 28 days to see a GP in February (Image: Newsquest)

With 2,727 GP appointments, Great Bentley Surgery saw a similar number of patients, but 403 of these appointments took more than four weeks to take place – the highest proportion of any GP surgery in north Essex.

At 12 per cent, Tollgate Health Centre had the highest proportion of appointments with a GP taking place after four weeks at surgeries in Colchester.

GPs at Fronks Road Family Surgery in Dovercourt saw six per cent of appointments after more than 28 days, while just three of the 3,494 appointments at the nearby Mayflower Medical Centre were kept waiting longer than four weeks.

Ben Potter, a patient at Mill Road Surgery in Colchester, where more than two-thirds of appointments were completed within 24 hours, has praised his surgery.

“I always find it easy to see a doctor if I need to,” he said. “Me and my family are very happy at Mill Road. We're so lucky to be registered there.”

Guidance issued by the Department of Health and Social Care in May last year said GP surgeries should offer non-urgent appointments within two weeks, or otherwise refer patients to call NHS 111 or visit a pharmacy.

A new survey by NHS England and the Office for National Statistics revealed 5.3 per cent of people were told to “make contact again another day, as the GP practice could not help that day”.

Dr David Wrigley, deputy chair of the British Medical Association’s general practice committee for England, said: “We all want the same thing: GPs want to be able to see their patients, and patients want to be able to see their GP.”