A call for something to be done about the GP shortage as serious conditions are overlooked.

One patient went to a medical centre five times in a month, seeing four different GPs - and they all missed that he was suffering from heart failure.

In another case, a patient went to the doctors 24 times in four years and saw six different GPs, but none of them picked up that he had acute kidney problems.

College of General Practitioners president Dr Samantha Murton told Mike Hosking GPs are hard to get access to.

"There's been a crisis looming and its getting worse and worse with the number of GPs that are available to patients. We need to do something about that."

She also suggests that doctors need to do a better job of prioritising patient care, and that doctors and their patients could negotiate when it's best for them to be seen.

"And get tests done or make sure that they come in urgently if they need to."