336,160 waits of over a month for GP appointment in Surrey as Epsom & Ewell MP calls for right to see GP within a week

There were 336,160 waits of a month or longer for a GP appointment in Surrey last year as Liberal Democrat MP for Epsom & Ewell, Helen Maguire has called for patients to be given a legal right to see their GP within a week, or 24-hours if in urgent need.

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 Surrey. In 2023 the figure stood at 294,176 but jumped by 14% to 336,160 last year. 

It meant that last year, waits of a month or longer in Surrey accounted for 5.1% of all GP appointments.

Waits of two weeks or longer were also staggeringly high. There were 1.14 million waits of two weeks or longer in 2024, up from 1.05 million the previous year, a rise of 6%. Waits of two weeks or longer accounted for 16.8% of all waits in Surrey in 2023.

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.

Helen Maguire, Liberal Democrat MP for Epsom & Ewell said that 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.

Liberal Democrat MP for Epsom & Ewell, Helen Maguire said:

“These figures are shocking, but unsurprising. Far too many of my constituents have had to wait in pain just to get the basic care they deserve, with potentially devastating consequences.

“It lays bare just how badly the Conservative broke health services here in Epsom & Ewell through their unforgivable chaos and neglect. The Labour government is now showing an unacceptable lack of urgency in fixing this crisis, opting for review after review instead of delivering real action for people in our area.

“We need to see a legal right for patients to see a GP within seven days or 24-hours if in urgent need. That’s why my Liberal Democrat colleagues and I are calling on the Government to show more ambition to get patients in our area the care they deserve. Anything less will only prolong the misery many of my constituents are facing.”