Cambridgeshire MPs Demand Legal Right to See a GP Within Seven Days

Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrat MPs Ian Sollom and Charlotte Cane are calling for a new legal right for patients to see a GP within seven days, warning that soaring waiting times are leaving residents “suffering in silence” and putting extra pressure on A&E services.

Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrat MPs Ian Sollom and Charlotte Cane have demanded urgent action to tackle spiralling GP waiting times across the county, including the introduction of a legal right to see a GP within seven days.

The call follows new Liberal Democrat analysis showing that in October more than 100,000 patients under the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board waited over four weeks for a GP appointment. This represents a 247% increase since July 2024, when the current Labour Party government took office. Over the same period, the number of patients waiting more than two weeks rose by 116%.

The MPs warned that lengthy delays are forcing residents in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to endure pain and anxiety while symptoms go unchecked, with knock-on effects for already stretched A&E departments.

In response, the Liberal Democrats are campaigning for a comprehensive GP rescue package. Central to the plan is a new legal right to see a GP within seven days — or within 24 hours for urgent cases — supported by the recruitment and retention of 8,000 additional doctors.

The proposals also include a dedicated fund to open new GP surgeries in areas that have lost practices or seen significant new housing development, alongside expanded access to 24/7 GP appointment booking via NHS 111.

On Black Cat Radio's Full English breakfast with Ste Greenall, Ian Sollom MP said this: