PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(12 January 2026)

NHS England publishes monthly data on general practice appointments, including the approximate length of time between appointments being booked and taking place, at a national and integrated care board level, although this is not a proxy for “waiting times”.

Several factors can affect when appointments take place, for example, patients may choose to book routine check-ups in advance for their own convenience. It is not possible to estimate the time between the patient’s first attempt to contact their surgery and an appointment.

Nationally, in November 2025, 43.1% of appointments were delivered on the same day, and 81.2% were delivered within two weeks. In the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board, 42.7% of appointments were delivered on the same day, 0.4 percentage points below the national average. 79.5% were delivered within two weeks, 1.7 percentage points below the national figure.