Almost a third of patients have to wait more than a week to see their GP according, to new figures.

Analysis by the Labour group shows 32% of people trying to see a family doctor in Medway last year had to wait seven days or more to get an appointment, much higher than the national average for patients waiting this long which is 26%.

The story is similar across the rest of north Kent, with 32% of patients in Swale waiting seven days or more and 31% in Dartford and Gravesham.

Medway Labour said this puts increasing pressure on Medway hospital as people go to A&E because they cannot see their GP. During an inspection last year, 22% of patients in the emergency department were assessed as being suitable to be treated by a GP.

Cllr Teresa Murray, Medway Labour spokesperson for health, said: “These figures explain in part why Medway Maritime Hospital continues to experience such high demand; people are turning to A&E because GP appointments are hard to come by.

“David Cameron and Jeremy Hunt talk endlessly about creating a seven-day NHS but the reality is that the Tories are currently failing to even deliver a five-day service. Patient care is suffering, A&E waiting times are going up and GP services are in crisis.

“We need a proper plan to improve our NHS and ensure patients in north Kent get the care they need, when they need it.”

League tables published by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) last year said Medway needed to recruit 58 more GPs by 2020 to meet demand. The shortages have been put down to a lack of resources, an ageing population and more patients being treated for long-term and complex conditions.

An NHS England spokesperson for the South East said spending in general practice will rise from £9.6 billion in 2015/16 to more £12 billion by 2021.

She added: “Overall satisfaction with general practice remains high, and over three quarters of the population report that they find it easy to make an appointment. But we know that general practice, like other parts of the NHS, is under real pressure, and so it isn’t easy everywhere to see your GP. That’s why we have taken steps to increase investment in general practice.”

Labour analysed data from the GP Patient Survey report for 2015.

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