THE number of patients waiting over a year for NHS care has seen a sharp 75 per cent rise, according to a new official report.

Figures from NHS Improvement show that 2,647 people said they had waited for over a year for treatment in March, compared to 1,513 the previous year.

Recent figures show that GP closures have forced 1.3 million patients to move surgeries in the last five years.

Shadow health and social care secretary Jonathan Ashworth said it “exposes the real crisis” in primary care after “eight years of grinding Tory austerity.”

“Labour has long called for primary care to be given greater priority and investment,“ he said.

“A key test for Theresa May in the coming weeks will be whether or not she finally delivers the level of investment and support that primary care so obviously needs.”

The report also highlights that NHS providers ended the year with a “challenging level of vacancies” of more than 92,000 posts.

A national survey of GPs has revealed that those who plan to leave the profession in the next five years is at an all-time high.

More than nine out of 10 GPs reported experiencing considerable or high pressure from increasing workloads.

Fresh calls have been made on the government through a petition to review immigration policies for overseas doctors who are applying to work in the NHS.

Between December 2017 and March, over 1,500 visa applications from doctors with job offers in Britain were refused as a result of the Home Office’s cap on the number of tier two visas it issues to workers from outside of the European Economic Area.