Over 25 thousand people locally are waiting over two weeks to see a GP.
Latest NHS figures show 13,648 people across Rotherham and 12,051 in Barnsley have had to wait between 15 and 21 days for an appointment with a GP.
It’s after the government published a plan pledging a GP appointment within 2 weeks in September last year, although they did not set a date by which this would be achieved.
Since then, it’s taken 22,209 people across Rotherham between 8-14 days and 5,656 over a month to be seen at their doctors.
In Barnsley 18,625 people had to wait 8-14 days and 5,784 over a month to get an appointment.
Wentworth and Dearne MP John Healey said: “These waiting times are unacceptable and clearly show 13 years of Conservative broken promises and understaffing of the NHS.
“Patients are finding it impossible to get a GP appointment when they need one which means illnesses go undiagnosed for longer and patients are left in pain and discomfort for weeks, or even months.
“Labour will recruit and retain the staff the NHS needs to treat patients on time starting with doubling medical school places, so we train 7,500 extra doctors and 10,000 more nurses a year. We’ll pay for it by abolishing the non-dom tax status, because patients need doctors and nurses more than the wealthiest need a tax break.”
In 2010, the Conservatives scrapped the guarantee for patients to be seen within 48 hours, implemented by the last Labour government, and failed over the past 13 years to train enough GPs.
Despite promising to recruit 5,000 more GPs in their 2015 manifesto and 6,000 more in their 2019 manifesto, there are 2,000 fewer GPs today than in 2015. As a result, each GP is having to look after an extra 348 patients today compared with 2015.