One in seven patients in London are waiting more than a year for treatment or a hospital appointment on the NHS, according to a major survey.
Analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that 14.4 per cent of Londoners waited 12 months or longer to receive treatment or an appointment through the health service in the four weeks up to February 15.
It is the fourth highest figure of any region in the country, behind the South East (15.1 per cent), South West (16.9 per cent) and North West (18.3 per cent).
The NHS England/ONS survey also asked participants about their experiences of using GP surgeries.
Among those people in the capital who tried to contact a GP practice in the past month for themselves or for someone else nearly half (49.9 per cent) said it was very easy or easy while nearly a third (29.5 per cent) said it was very difficult or difficult.
One in 20 (5.7 per cent) Londoners who contacted a surgery were told to make contact another day as the GP practice could not help that day, according to the survey.
The survey is based on responses from a sample of nearly 90,000 adults aged 16 and over in England.
All the figures have been age-standardised, which means they take into account population size and age structure to ensure a fair comparison between different groups.
Separate figures published by NHS England show that 1.2 million people in London were on an NHS waiting list for treatment at the end of January.
In other developments, leading medics warned on Wednesday that strikes by GPs could be on the table as a new poll revealed that the majority of family doctors are in favour of industrial action.
Dr David Wrigley, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) England GP Committee, said family doctors in England are “frustrated, angry and upset”.
A poll of 391 family doctors across the UK, carried out by GP Online, found 72 per cent would be in favour of industrial action.
GPs cited burnout, stress, high workload and patient safety concerns as some of the main reasons for willingness to stage action.
The BMA has said that a proposed new contract for GPs, which will see services given a 1.9 per cent funding uplift for 2024/25, means many GP surgeries will struggle to stay financially viable.
Dr Wrigley told LBC: “This contract imposition has led to a reduction in funding and just not giving us the resources we need to look after our patients.
“This is why we’re now saying the Government needs to get back around the table, talk to us, free up this contract and allow us to look after our patients properly.”
