Figures show that 146,285 GP appointments in Oldham lasted just five minutes or less over the last year.

This figure made up 13 per cent of all attended appointments from March 2022 to February 2023.

NHS Greater Manchester has countered the figures, saying that not all appointments need more than five minutes, and that some appointments may have been misclassified despite lasting longer.

Oldham Lib Dem leader Cllr Howard Sykes MBE warned that government failure to recruit enough GPs has led to “frighteningly long waiting times and rushed appointments”.

He said: “The pandemic created a backlog in our health services. People haven’t been able to see a doctor when they’ve needed one. 

“Now there are more patients but fewer GPs to treat them. 

"Services are stretched to breaking point and you have to wonder what quality of care can be delivered in an appointment that lasts less than five minutes.”

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Dr Manisha Kumar, Chief Medical Officer at NHS Greater Manchester said: “General practices manage their appointment length and type as needed to accommodate the various needs of patients – using a degree of flexibility to provide the required level of care for different circumstances.

“For example, some practices may need an in-person appointment increased to 20 mins to support patients with complex needs, while less complex patients may require a quick telephone call and not need the full time allocated.

“There are also instances where it is classed as a five-minute session but will in fact last longer.

“That’s why it’s important to take this into account when looking at the data, as it doesn’t reflect the details of what the appointments were for and whether it is in-person or over the phone – therefore how much time was needed to fulfil the patient’s needs.

“It is because of all of these factors that we are working with practices on aligning appointment types to support national data extraction for clear interpretation to help create a true picture of general practices in the area.”

The Department of Health and Social Care said there could be multiple reasons why appointments may last less than five minutes, such as patient preference, increased availability and improved access meaning medical needs do not build up.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “To make sure patients get the care they need we are boosting capacity with hundreds more doctors in general practice than last year, record numbers in training and we have almost reached our target of delivering 26,000 additional primary care staff.

“We are making progress in improving access towards ensuring patients who need an appointment are seen within two weeks, and those with urgent needs are seen on the same day and will set out details of further support soon, through our primary care recovery plan and our long-term workforce plan.”