Some patients in deprived areas of Yorkshire reporting difficulties accessing GP services

Responses to the GP patient survey suggest that among patients who use practices within the Hull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) - which is ranked the fifth most deprived in the country - almost one fifth (19.1 per cent) said that they do not find it easy to reach the surgery over the phone.

In Hull, a high number of people also reported not being offered or being unable to take an appointment offered to them, with 17 per cent of patients telling researchers that this was the case.

Meanwhile, at Barnsley CCG - ranked 17th for deprivation - 22.5 per cent of patients said reaching through the phone lines was difficult and 14.3 per cent said they did not take or were not offered an appointment.

In the less deprived North Yorkshire - ranked 89th on the scale - only seven per cent of patients reported issues getting hold of the GP practice on the phone.

Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth said it is “unacceptable that patients are unable to see their GP, particularly in poorer areas” and blamed Government underfunding and cuts.

He added: “Instead of investing sufficiently in general practice, Sajid Javid is embarking on a top down reorganisation of the NHS that imposes a tight financial straight jacket on local areas while side-lining family doctors.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said that the Government is “incredibly grateful” for the efforts of GPs throughout the Covid crisis.

They went on to say that: “We have invested £270m to expand GP capacity, on top of the £1.5 billion for extra staff until 2023/24.

“The highest ever number of doctors accepted a place on GP specialty training in 2020 and we are committed to increasing the number of training places available to 4,000 a year to grow the primary care workforce, as well as targeting recruitment in hard-to-recruit areas.”