Fifty-six per cent of patients in St Albans are being denied appointments with their preferred GP, according to a recent study.
According to data collected from the NHS, the GP Patient Survey and the ONS - presented by The Labour Party - just 37 per cent of the city's patients regularly see their preferred GP.
Further to this, the study claims that 607 patients in St Albans regularly wait for over a month to see a GP, and only have a 62 per cent chance of getting a face-to-face appointment.
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The Labour Party also state that across Hertfordshire 12,772 patients wait more than a month to see a GP and only have a 72 per cent chance of getting a face-to-face appointment.
Sixty per cent of Hertfordshire's patients are apparently unable to see a doctor of their choice.
Labour's shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, said: “It’s much better for patients to see the GP who knows their medical history, face-to-face if they wish.
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"But patients are finding it impossible to get an appointment at all, let alone with the doctor they want, in the manner they choose.
"It’s no surprise given the Conservatives have cut 2,000 GPs since 2015.
“Labour will double medical school places to train 7,500 extra doctors and 10,000 more nurses a year, paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax status, so patients are seen on time again.
"We will bring back the family doctor and give patients in Hertfordshire choice and control over their care.”
Clare De Silva, the Conservative Party's Parliamentary spokesperson for St Albans, told The Herts Advertiser: "Cutting NHS waiting times is one of the Conservative Party’s key pledges.
"In St Albans we have secured additional funding for both St Albans City Hospital and nearby Watford General, further easing pressure on both primary and acute health care. The Conservatives are delivering the biggest catch-up programme in the NHS’s history and a record 1.25 million full-time equivalent NHS staff.
"We have a record 1.25 million workers in NHS hospitals and community care – over 42,000 more people in a year, up by 3.5 per cent – including over 5,100 more doctors and 11,800 more nurses, and we are investing an extra £45.6 billion in health and social care funding over the next three years, delivering around nine million more checks and scans.”
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