Nearly 1.9 million Londoners believe their GP surgery opening hours are inconvenient, Labour said today.
Patients in the capital and surrounding commuting towns, many of who get home late, are the least happy in England about access to their GP.
In Slough, 26 per cent found their family doctor’s opening hours inconvenient, shadow health minister Liz Kendall said, while in Richmond-upon-Thames the figure was 25 per cent. Just under a quarter of patients wanted their GP surgery to be open longer in Ealing, Camden, Islington, Brent, Harrow and Barnet, as well as Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead.
The figures for these nine areas, based on groups of GPs rather than local government boundaries, are the highest in the country.
Ms Kendall said: “It’s a particular issue in London because people are commuting. It may also be to do with people having different and longer working hours.”
She urged GPs to “listen” to the complaints about opening hours and accused the Coalition government of ditching financial incentives which encourged family doctors to work on Saturdays and later into the evening. The Labour analysis was based on the 2012/13 GP Patient Survey which also found Saturday surgeries were supported by 72 per cent.
A spokesman for Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “Labour have finally admitted their disastrous 2004 contract which let GPs opt out of providing out-of-hours care has meant patients suffer.”
