One in six patients in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes have poor experience with their GP

The findings come from the NHS Health Insights Survey, which asked patients about their experiences with GP services over the past 28 days.

In the area covering Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes, 17 per cent of 643 patients who attempted to contact their GP said they had a poor experience, while 63 per cent described their experience as Good.

Nationally, 11 per cent of respondents said they had a poor experience with their GP.

Participants were also asked whether they felt the service had improved, with 19 per cent across Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes saying they believed it had, while 14 per cent said they thought it had got worse.

The data also showed how many patients had successfully got through to their GP surgery on the same day they first tried.

In this area 71 per cent had managed this, while 10 per cent had not got through at all.

Nationally, 78 per cent had managed to make contact on the same day, while four per cent were unable to make any contact.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said there were not enough GPs to meet patient demand.

"We can’t carry on doing more with less which is why without substantial investment to recruit and retain more GPs some patients will continue to struggle to get access," Professor Hawthorne said.

"GPs want to be able to offer ease of access to all patients, and we share our patients’ frustrations when they struggle to access our care and services."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson responded: "Through our Plan for Change we will fix the front door of the NHS and shift the focus of healthcare from hospital to community.

"We are hiring an extra 1,000 GPs, so patients can get the care they need, and have proposed the biggest boost to GP funding in years - an extra £889 million."