THOUSANDS of patients are forced to wait longer than 28 days to see a GP at a Basingstoke surgery, new figures show.

Statistics compiled by the NHS for February 2023 show average GP appointment waiting times for individual surgeries.

At the Camrose, Gillies and Hackwood Partnership (CGH), a total of 22,660 appointments were made in February.

READ MORE: How long does it take to get a GP appointment in Basingstoke? Statistics revealed

Of these, around 35 per cent (7,978) had to wait longer than a week to see a GP, with 3,035 having to wait longer than 28 days.

The figures show that a total of 9,974 patients were offered a same day appointment in February.

A message regarding routine appointments on the partnership’s website refers to guidance issued in December 2022 from the NHS regarding Step A / scarlet fever.

It said: “This meant that many non-urgent GP appointments needed to be used to see and treat a greater number of children and more vulnerable patients than usual.

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“We know that this may have caused delays for some routine appointments, and we thank you for your understanding during this time. Our team are working hard to make sure all patients are seen as soon as possible.”

The partnership has three sites in Basingstoke at Gillies Health Centre in Brighton Hill, St Andrew’s Centre, in South Ham, and Essex House, near the town centre.

It was taken over by American health firm Operose in 2020, which also runs the Beggarwood Surgery and Shakespeare Road Medical Practice both in Basingstoke.

Last year, Operose was the subject of a Panorama investigation which claimed the CGH partnership had reduced its number of GPs by more than 50 per cent since being taken over by Operose – a figure the company refuted.

SEE MORE: Operose-run Basingstoke GP surgery features on BBC Panorama 

A spokesperson for Operose said: "Our GPs and their teams are working hard to see everyone as quickly as possible and do care for a large number of urgent cases every day.

"We understand that waiting for a routine appointment can be frustrating and we do apologise for any upset this causes. We would like to thank our patients for their understanding while we continue to take action to reduce waiting times.

"We are continuing to expand our local GP practice teams, supported by £3m investment in pay rises this year, including increases above the independently-set National Living Wage for the second year running.

"For the vital reception and administration roles in our practices who will benefit from the new Living Wage rates, this represents a rise of between eight and 10 per cent."