A proposal for extended GP appointments is great news for patients, if they can get an appointment.

More and more GP surgeries in the Dengie and across Essex are becoming stretched with higher patient numbers than ever before.

By extending consultations from ten to 15 minutes, the number of appointments will reduce, and as a result, waiting times will rise.

The new system is being rolled out in the Dengie and Castle Point area, and the areas are among the first in the country to try it out.

The UK does appear to be behind other countries in terms of its GP care, considering the average consultation in Sweden is around 22 minutes.

However, on the whole this is a step in the right direction, as it will help GPs to give a more accurate and beneficial diagnosis for patients in the first instance.

There is a danger that due to the number of GPs and surgeries in the area decreasing more and more, patients in the community could have more difficulty trying to be seen in future.