MILLIONS of GP appointments were “rushed through” in less than five minutes last year, NHS figures show.
One in six consultations – almost 52million between March 2022 and February 2023 – lasted just a few minutes.
Millions of GP appointments were ‘rushed through’ in less than five minutes last year, NHS figures showGetty
Critics say family doctors are so busy that many patients do not get enough time to discuss their health.
Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper said: “People are being left waiting weeks to get an appointment only to be rushed through in a matter of minutes.
“Many patients need time to properly talk through their symptoms with a GP, especially when they have complex health problems.”
NHS statistics show 17.2 per cent of appointments at GP surgeries last year lasted between one and five minutes.
This amounted to 51,837,583 out of the total 300,976,093 appointments.
Dennis Reed, of seniors’ campaign group Silver Voices, said: “I think people feel they shouldn’t take up too much of the doctor’s time because they know they are busy.
“This means they might only focus on one symptom and forget about other things.
“A lot of older people do have multiple conditions but feel that they don’t want to be a bother.
“It would be unfortunate if GPs are missing things because of that.”
The latest figures show between six and 10 minutes is the most common appointment duration, followed by less than five minutes.
Some do not need to be longer, such as simple blood pressure checks or repeat prescriptions.
But recent research by the Health Foundation found Brits have some of the shortest GP appointments of rich countries, lasting an average of 10 minutes.
By comparison, French and Canadian patients get 15 minutes and the average is 20 minutes in Switzerland and 25 in Sweden.
The Royal College of GPs says the standard should be a quarter of an hour.