GP and NHS dentist appointments in England: how long people really wait

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published a new wave of its Health Insight Survey on 8 October 2026. It is the only regular study that asks patients themselves how they actually reach a doctor in England. Fieldwork ran from 18 August to 9 September 2026 and around 89,800 adults responded. This is wave 28; the next one is due on 5 November. The figures show where the queue is real and where it can be avoided.

How long do you wait for a GP appointment?

A third of appointments are given on the same day. Among people whose GP practice gave them an appointment or a call back, 34% got it the same day, another 10.6% the next day, 39% within two weeks and 16.4% waited longer than two weeks. In other words, roughly one person in six still faces a wait of more than a fortnight even after getting through.

ONLYWAY NEWSLIVEJobs & Business · 08.10AI at work in the UK: ONS names the jobs it has hit firstLife · 08.10GP and NHS dentist appointments in England: how long people really waitMoney · 08.10UK sanctions Cryptomus, Heleket and VexPay: what it means for money transfersImmigration · 08.10UK immigration rules change on 8 October 2026: what is newLaw · 08.10Bought a faulty used car in the UK: how to get your money backMarkets · 08.10Fuel prices now show in Google Maps: how to find the cheapest pumpTravel · 08.10Piccadilly line part closed to Cockfosters as Elizabeth line recoversTax · 07.10HMRC visits: how to check an officer's identity under the rules updated on 7 OctoberLaw · 07.10Legal aid in the UK: who can get a free lawyer and how to applyMoney · 07.10State pension triple lock to change from April 2030: what it means for paymentsONLYWAY NEWS · appInstall the ONLYWAY NEWS appFresh UK news, classifieds, key dates and exchange rates on your home screen, one tap away. Free.NewsClassifiedsCalendarRates

In the last 28 days, 42.6% of adults had tried to contact their GP practice: 55.2% of people aged 75 and over, but 31.1% of 16 to 24-year-olds.

What is the easiest way to contact a GP practice?

The NHS App, not the phone. Overall 76.9% of those who got in touch called it easy, but the gap inside that number is large: through the NHS App 84.2% said it was easy and only 3.5% said it was difficult, while by telephone 73.1% said easy and 9.7% difficult. A practice's own website sits in between, at 77.6% against 6.8%.

Contact has become slightly easier since the spring: 73.1% said easy in the late May to mid-June wave, 75% in June and July, 75.9% in July and August, and 76.9% now.

What do practices offer once you get through?

Most often a face-to-face appointment. It went to 45.4% of those who made contact, while 24.1% got what they needed online or by phone, 10.7% were given a call back and 1.2% a video appointment. Among people who were given an appointment or a call back, 79.2% were seen in person. Overall, 73.2% rate their practice as good and 9.5% as poor — almost unchanged on a year ago (73.9% and 9.0% in autumn 2025).

Why is it so hard to get an NHS dentist?

Because there are almost no places. An NHS dentist is used by 49.3% of adults in England, a private dentist by 37.3%, and 13.1% have no dentist at all. London is below the national average for NHS dentistry at 47.5%, with 37.9% private and 14.2% with no dentist. The South West is the worst: only 37.2% have an NHS dentist, while 48.3% go private.

ADV · A001ONLYWAY JEWELRY — gold, silver and platinumRings, chains, bracelets, earrings and pendants. Delivery across the UK.Advertise here

The hardest figure concerns starting from scratch. Among adults with no dentist who tried to access NHS dental care in the last month, 14.7% succeeded (a small base of 184 people, with a confidence interval of 5.5% to 24%). The rest — roughly six in seven — did not get an appointment. Of those who failed, 85.9% took no further action and 5.8% went private. Among people seeking urgent care, almost a third found the practice through NHS 111.

How many people are on a hospital waiting list?

One adult in six. In England, 17% of adults are on an NHS hospital waiting list for a diagnostic test or an operation. Of them, 41.3% have been waiting less than three months, 40.9% between three and twelve months, and 15.9% for more than a year.

The main complaint is silence rather than length. While waiting, 45.3% received no information at all and only 39.5% got confirmation that their referral had been received. Communication about the wait leaves 43.8% dissatisfied, up from 41.8% a year earlier, and 45.6% rate the experience of waiting as poor. A further 29.4% had their appointment moved by the hospital.

What about pharmacies and prescriptions?

This part works. No problem getting a prescription dispensed was reported by 88.5% of respondents. Having to return to the same pharmacy another day affected 8%, trying several pharmacies 1.6%, and going to a GP or urgent care 1.8%. Satisfaction with pharmacy services stands at 88.3%.

What should you do about it?

Three practical conclusions. First, install the NHS App and book through it: on this survey's own numbers it is the fastest channel and the telephone loses on every measure. Second, if you are new to the country, register with a GP practice before you need one; the NHS states plainly that you do not need proof of address, identification, an NHS number or details of your immigration status. Third, look for an NHS dental place through the search on nhs.uk rather than one practice at a time, and do not stop after the first refusal, which is what the overwhelming majority of rejected patients do. For severe toothache call 111, and for minor conditions such as a sore throat, earache, urinary infection or insect bites go straight to a pharmacy under Pharmacy First, where a prescription can be issued without seeing a doctor.

ONLYWAY NEWS will return to the next wave of the survey, due on 5 November 2026.