1 In 5 People Have Had To Wait 48 Hours Or More To See Their GP

Online, January 18, 2011 (Newswire.com) - In the last three months, one in five (21%) people have had to wait 48 hours or more to see their GP, the appointment target scrapped by the Government.

A YouGov poll commissioned by Samedaydoctor, a modern private option to the traditional GP practice, shows the extent to which people now wait to see their GP and the impact this has. The research also found that One in thirteen (8%) across Britain have had to wait more than a week to see their GP despite urgent health concerns.

13% of people have felt at some point in the past that their condition has worsened as a result of having to wait to see their GP. The results also reveal 11% have approached an out of hours GP and a further 13% have turned to stretched hospital A&E departments in desperation.

In June, the Government scrapped the 48 hour appointment guarantee which means, GP's are now allowed to prioritise their patients according to their health concerns. Since then, private GP chain Samedaydoctor has seen a dramatic rise in the number of patients, particularly from busy professionals who want to see a GP as soon as they feel unwell.

Dr Laurence Gerlis from Samedaydoctor said the results of the research point to the need for private GP services to take the pressure off the NHS, treating patients who value immediate attention.

"Our hospitals are already stretched without an influx of patients who could quite easily receive care from a public or private General Practice. We are leading the way in providing a service which gives people the immediate access they need."

Layton Tamberlin, Chairman of Samedaydoctor, added "Delivering the level of service that meets 21st century expectations with the essential quality and necessary complexity of the healthcare sector is a constant challenge for us. Only by providing this can we complement the role the NHS fills and offer more immediate and flexible alternatives."

After spending 30 years as a General Practitioner in the NHS and traditional private sector, Dr Gerlis founded Samedaydoctor in 2003 to improve access to medical advice across the UK. Samedaydoctor now has eight private clinics across the UK, offering comprehensive health services seven days a week, 8:00am - 7:00pm.