12% of people who try to make a GP appointment in Bath and NE Somerset don't get one, whilst over 26,000 locals were forced to wait over a month, it can be revealed.

New figures from NHS England show that a shocking 12% of people in the area could not get an appointment to see or speak to a GP or nurse the last time they tried. In June alone, 26,199 residents had to wait a whole month to see the doctor in the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire NHS region.

When the Conservatives first entered government, they scrapped the guarantee of a GP appointment within 48 hours. Now the Government has admitted it is failing to meet its manifesto pledge to recruit more GPs.

Metro Mayor Dan Norris said: "It's a real struggle for some people to see their GP, and people are spending hours on the phone, and then being told nothing is available for weeks. When I was an MP in the last Labour government, I was proud that we guaranteed a GP appointment within 48 hours. Our NHS is Britain's greatest asset but the Conservatives are running it into the ground".