Patients in Gloucestershire have the longest wait in the country for a GP appointment, according to a new study.

It shows more than 12% of people who need to see an NHS doctor are having to wait more than 22 days.

The study analysed appointment data from England's 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICB) from July 2021 to December 2023.

NHS Gloucestershire ICB topped the list for wait times with 590,950 of the 4.8million appointments looked at taking more than 22 days to occur.

That equates to 12.29% of people having to wait more than three weeks to be seen by a doctor.

There are 73 GP practices within the Gloucestershire region, all of which are members of the board.

The figure is well above other regions- being almost 3% higher than second place NHS Dorset with 9.57% and 4% higher than third place NHS Norfolk and Waveney with 8.12%.

The study by personal injury expert Claims.co.uk found that NHS North East London was performing best with only 3.01% of patients waiting more than 22 days for an appointment.

A spokesperson for Claims.co.uk said: "Reports indicating extensive wait times for GP appointments in regions like Gloucestershire, Dorset, and Norfolk and Waveney are troubling. These prolonged waits not only inconvenience patients but also pose potential risks to their health outcomes.

"Timely access to primary healthcare services is essential for early intervention and prevention of health issues. Addressing the underlying factors contributing to these lengthy waits, whether they stem from resource shortages, system inefficiencies, or other challenges, is imperative to ensure equitable access to healthcare for all individuals in these areas."

Statement from NHS Gloucestershire: "Data such as this should be approached with real caution, and we do not recognise the figures quoted by claims.co.uk.

"Improving access to GP services is a top priority for us. In Gloucestershire, we have significantly increased the number of same-day, urgent appointments - over 35% more compared to four years ago (January 2024 compared to January 2020).

"We will continue to support practices to reduce waiting times for routine appointments in what is a very challenging environment."