News » CQC, Rurality » Rural waiting lists highlighted in CQC report
October 25th 2024
Rural southwest England has some of the longest waiting times for a GP appointment, new research from the GP regulator for England shows.
The state of health care and adult social care in England 2023/24 - Care Quality Commission, published by the CQC, found that the 10 ICSs with the highest proportions of patients waiting over two weeks to be seen were in comparatively rural areas – with half of these in the South West.
By contrast, the 10 ICSs with the lowest proportions of patients waiting over two weeks to be seen were mostly around London, and also in Birmingham or the wider West Midlands region.
The report highlights escalating GP workload: between March 2020 and March 2024, the number of patients registered with a GP in England increased by 5 per cent, from 60 to 63 million.
A survey of 1,600 adults who had accessed care in the last year concluded that almost three in five people (59%) had difficulty accessing GP services.
The report also highlights outstanding rural practices which try to offset hospital access challenges by providing in-house services such as phlebotomy, minor surgery and diabetic screening.
Other features of outstanding practice include steps to increase the number and availability of appointments, proactive outreach to hard-to-reach groups and partnerships to address specific health concerns.
Responding to the report, Health Foundation Director of Policy Hugh Alderwick said: “Big ambitions on reform must be accompanied by investment. The Chancellor's first Budget next week is an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to getting the NHS back on its feet.”
