NORTH east Essex GPs saw nearly 50 patients every day last year as statistics uncovered the severe strain being faced by the NHS.

According to figures obtained by the House of Commons Library, GPs within the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex catchment area saw an average of 46 patients every day last year – well above the national average of 34.

The total number of appointments people made with their GPs in England numbered more than 300 million last year, with the total number sitting at 313,084,783.

In 2019, the number of appointments made at GP surgeries in England was just over 288 million.

The figures mean it has become harder to get a GP appointment, with doctors under pressure to cut the length of appointments so they can see more patients over the course of a day.

More recent data relating to the number of appointments arranged for a single month last year showed a total of 201,728 appointments took place at GP practices in the former NHS North East Essex clinical commissioning group area in October 2022.

Of that number, however, nearly a quarter (46,807), took place more than a fortnight after a patient had booked an appointment.

Official figures for Suffolk and north east Essex also revealed Tollgate Health Centre was one of the most stretched in Colchester, with 40 per cent of 4,613 patients in October last year having to wait more than two weeks for an appointment.

Rowhedge Surgery, meanwhile, saw only 6.6 per cent of 3,982 patients have to wait more than a fortnight for an appointment during the same time period.

Responding to the figures, a spokesman for the Suffolk and north east Essex ICB said more staff are still being employed locally.

He said: “Workforce investment has resulted in an additional 154 full-time health care staff employed under the additional roles reimbursement scheme in primary care locally in the last few years.

“With our partners, including at the GP Hub and NHS England, we continue to support the many initiatives to encourage staff recruitment and retention and we actively participate in events to inspire young people to consider a future career in the NHS.”