One in 10 people in Nottinghamshire couldn't contact their GP

The Royal College of GPs said it shared the frustrations of patients who could not access their GP, with 8.7 per cent of people nationally unable to make contact.

The NHS England and Office for National Statistics 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 consider population size and age structure to ensure a fair comparison between different groups.

It showed 9.4 per cent of people registered to a GP practice in the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board were unable to contact their doctor, receptionist or another clinician at their registered practice the last time they tried.

A further ten per cent were able to get in touch with their GP, but it took at least two days.

Dr Dave Briggs, medical director at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire said: “There has been a significant and continuous increase in demand for GP appointments in recent years which the NHS is continuing to address by boosting the number of appointments available, offering a wider range of healthcare services across the system and investing in new technology such as the NHS App and better practice telephone systems and websites.

“The most recent data shows that in February this year, 645,406 GP appointments were provided in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, an increase of more than 70,000 (12 per cent) on the same month last year.

“We’ve also increased the size of GP Practice teams, with 650 new physiotherapists, nurses, mental health practitioners and other specialist roles now offering appointments at practices in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. We ‘re continuing to develop practice care teams to support people better such as care navigators who can signpost people to the most appropriate services.

“Services such as Pharmacy First now allow patients the chance to access treatment for seven common conditions from their local community pharmacy, with many pharmacies also prescribing oral contraceptives and providing free blood pressure checks – services which previously were only available from your GP.

“We recognise how frustrating it can be when trying secure appointments by phone at times of high demand and ask patients to continue to be respectful to teams working hard to deliver high quality care. If you are unsure which NHS service is most suitable for your needs or need medical advice, please call NHS 111, available 24/7 to assist you.”

The survey also showed 63.7 per cent of patients across the country said their experience of their GP practice was "good or very good".

In Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, this fell to 58.8 per cent, while a further 25 per cent said their experience was poor or very poor.

The survey also revealed the proportion of patients waiting 12 months or more for treatment or assessments.

In Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, 9.9 per cent of patients said they were waiting for at least 12 months for a hospital appointment or test, or to begin medical treatment with the NHS.