Record number of GP appointments to have four-week waits this year
A record number of GP appointments will have four-week waits this year, new data shows.
There were 10.3 million waits of four weeks or more for a GP appointment in the seven months to July, analysis of NHS data by the Liberal Democrats has found.
That is 1.7 million higher than the same period last year, when 8.6 million appointments had four-week waits.
If this year’s number continues in the same vein, as is expected, it will beat last year’s record of 17.6 million four-week waits.
In some areas, NHS data shows almost one in 10 GP appointments have seen four-week or more waits so far this year.
Gloucestershire has the highest proportion of four-week waits in the country, with 10.1% of GP appointments in that category.
Derby, Derbyshire and Glossop, Dorset, and Chorley and South Ribble come next, with all having 9% or more of patients waiting longer than four weeks for a GP appointment.
That is nearly double the national average of 5%.
The Lib Dems are demanding the government increase funding for the NHS, including GP services, when the chancellor announces her autumn budget on 30 October.
But Sir Keir Starmer earlier this week said the NHS would not get any more funding without reforming as he laid out a 10-year plan to fix the health service.
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Davey quizzed over extra NHS funding
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey told Sky News the NHS cannot “withstand that approach”.
“It needs the investment up front as well as reform,” he said.
He said the Conservatives “reneged” on reforming social care and said “Labour doesn’t seem to be grasping” it.
The Lib Dems want to give everyone the legal right to a GP appointment within a week, or 24 hours if in urgent need.
An extra 8,000 GPs would be needed to do that.
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Lord Winston discusses how he thinks the government could fund the NHS
Sir Ed said: “Everyone should be able to see a doctor when they need one, but the Conservative Party broke the NHS so badly that millions of people are waiting weeks for an appointment.
“That’s why Liberal Democrats are campaigning for everyone to have the right to see a GP within seven days, or 24 hours if it’s urgent, and we are urging the government to boost GP numbers to make it happen.
“Fixing the GP crisis is critical to saving our NHS. If people can get seen quicker, fewer will end up in hospital in the first place. That’s better for them, better for the NHS and better for taxpayers.”
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Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper is expected to discuss the NHS in her keynote speech to the party’s conference on Monday.
She will say: “You don’t have freedom if you’re on a waiting list so long that your world shrinks and you’re stuck hobbling at home between a couple of rooms.
“Decent health and care services are the bedrock of a liberal society.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “The NHS is broken. These findings show how much general practice has been neglected. This government will fix this by shifting the focus of healthcare out of the hospital and into the community.
“We have committed to hiring an extra 1,000 GPs into the NHS by the end of this year. In addition, we have provided a further £311m towards GP contract funding in 24/25 – an uplift of 7.4%. We will also ensure that GPs have the resources they need to offer patients the highest quality care.”
All flights were halted at Edinburgh Airport this morning due to an IT issue affecting its air traffic control provider.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the airport later announced service had resumed.
Its post read: “Flights have now resumed following the IT issue with our air traffic provider.
“We thank passengers for their patience and understanding.”
But passengers continue to feel the effects.
A Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Edinburgh was diverted to Dublin after going into a holding pattern over the Scottish capital.
And a live arrivals board on the airport’s website showed multiple flights diverted, delayed and cancelled.
Arrivals board at Edinburgh Airport. Pic: Edinburgh Airport
Morven McCall and Cody Stevenson, both 19, were due to fly easyJet from Edinburgh to Amsterdam on their first trip away together.
Morven told Sky News: “We literally just got into the airport and as soon as we walked through the door there was an announcement that it had been cancelled.
“I was ill over the summer and had to cancel two holidays already, this was our first time going away together. We are just gutted and stressed.”
Follow live: Latest updates as flights halted
Arrivals at Edinburgh Airport. File pic: PA
One passenger was on a plane when they found out.
They said: “We boarded our flight and pushed back on time for an 8.45 (am) departure, then sat for a while before the pilot told us what was happening.
“He updated us a couple of times, cabin crew are brilliant at handing out water etc, and I’m surprised that everyone appears to be upbeat. But then you do wonder how long for, just been told we’re hoping to be in the air in 20 minutes.”
Another passenger told us: “The first news was from the airport announcement as we were halfway through boarding, saying the airfield was closed due to air traffic control down.
“No one knew what was going on. We’d already been delayed a bit before boarding, with no reason. I suspect problems started about 9am.”
It comes after an earlier announcement that all flights had been halted.
“No flights are currently operating from Edinburgh Airport,” the previous statement said.
“Teams are working on the issue and will resolve as soon as possible.”
There was no timeframe for recovery initially, Sky News learned.
It’s understood by PA that the issue was not linked to today’s Cloudflare outage.
Edinburgh Trams also posted on X, writing: “If you’re travelling with us to @EDI_Airport this morning, please be aware that flights are not currently operating.”
The airport urged passengers to contact their airline for the latest information on flights.
An average of 43,000 passengers per day use the airport, which is served by 37 airlines flying to 155 destinations.
A former doctor has been charged over alleged sexual assaults on 38 patients in his care.
Nathaniel Spencer, 38, has been charged with 15 counts of sexual assault, 17 counts of assault by penetration, nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, three counts of assault a child under 13 by penetration and one count of attempted assault by penetration.
It follows a police investigation into alleged sexual offences between 2017 and 2021.
Staffordshire Police said in a statement the charges come after a complex investigation by the Public Protection Unit into sexual offences at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, in Stoke-on-Trent, and Russells Hall Hospital, in Dudley.
North Staffordshire Justice Centre
Ben Samples, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the West Midlands CPS Complex Casework Unit and Serious Violence, Organised Crime and Exploitation Unit, said: “We have decided to prosecute Nathaniel Spencer for a number of serious sexual offences allegedly carried out against patients while he was working as a doctor – including assault by penetration and sexual assault against a child.
“Our prosecutors have worked at length to support a detailed and complex investigation by Staffordshire Police, carefully reviewing the available evidence to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”
Spencer, from Birmingham, will appear at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on 20 January 2026.
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