THE mental health of almost a quarter of adults has been affected by waiting too long to see a GP or for a hospital appointment, a survey has found.

Some 18 per cent of respondents to the Office for National Statistics survey reported that their physical health had been affected by the issue.

Last month, NHS England revealed that 7.61 million treatments were waiting to be carried out in November 2023, relating to 6.39 million patients.

Royal College of GPs chairwoman Professor Kamila Hawthorne said family doctors “understand the impact that not being able to access care when they need to can have on patients.”

She added that GPs want “patients to have access to safe, timely and appropriate care” and called for the “severe capacity crunch of staff and resources in hospitals and community services” to be addressed.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said the long waits are “creating a mental health epidemic” in Britain, adding: “It is simply unthinkable that [Prime Minister] Rishi Sunak is now cutting NHS funding, leaving hospitals and GP services even more stretched.”

Mental Health Minister Maria Caulfield said that “by sticking to the plan,” the government will lower waiting times.