One in five can't see their GP within two days

Labour brought in the two working day target to try to ensure that patients could see their GPs promptly.

But last June Andrew Lansley, the current Health Secretary, pledged to scrap that target, saying it would reduce bureaucracy. It ceased being a target earlier this year.

Under Tony Blair, doctors were also told patients should be able to book advance appointments as well, after a patient told him it was impossible to do so for non-urgent matters.

However, the latest survey results suggest this is actually becoming harder to do.

Whereas in early 2009, 22 per cent said they could not book at appointment more than a fortnight ahead, by 2010/11 the proportion had risen to 26 per cent.

Gordon Brown's government went further, trying to make surgeries open outside normal working hours by providing appointments before or after work, or on Saturdays. But the survey indicates that only a minority of surgeries offer extending opening hours.

Only 15 per cent of patients believe their local surgery is open before 8am, 18 per cent after 6.30pm and 13 per cent on Saturdays.

By contrast, more than half (58 per cent) would like their surgery to open at additional times. Most want Saturday openings, while evening appointments are also popular.

Dr Clare Gerada, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said family doctors had experienced a "massively increased workload" over the last five years.

They typically saw between 36 and 50 patients a day, she noted, adding: "GPs will always see a patient if it's an emergency."

While she said patients should be able to book ahead, the further in advance they did, the higher the "did not attend" rate was, which risked wasting NHS resources.

She also pointed out that every primary care trust in England offered at least one surgery with 8am to 8pm, 365 days a year care. However, there were "just not enough GPs" for large numbers of surgeries to offer Saturday or evening appointments, she remarked.

Although there are difficulties with seeing a GP, satisfaction with the service remains high. Nine in 10 said they were satisfied with the care they received, while 94 per cent said they trusted their doctor.

Lord Howe, the Health Minister, said: "I am pleased that the vast majority of patients have a strong sense of confidence and trust in their GPs, and that an increasing number of patients with long term conditions are being offered personalised care plans.

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