Funding for general practitioner services has slumped to its lowest-ever level as a proportion of the NHS budget - and patient care is being put at risk as a result.

The warning comes today from two key health bodies, namely the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and the National Association for Patient Participation (NAPP).

In 2004-5, 10.3 per cent of the NHS budget was spent on general practice but by 2011-12 this had dropped to 8.4 per cent, according to the two organisations.

The RCGP said the slump is leading to longer waiting times and increasing pressure on hospitals, despite the fact that 90 per cent of contacts with NHS patients occur in general practice.

Chairman of the RCGP Dr Maureen Baker said: "During the last nine years GPs across the country have had to cope with a growing and an ageing population, in which more and more people have been affected by multiple, serious long-term conditions - and yet funding for general practice has been slashed.

"The share of the NHS budget spent on general practice has slumped to the lowest point on record."

The RCGP and NAPP are launching a new campaign, Put Patients First, Back General Practice, calling on the government to increase NHS spending on general practice across Britain to 11 per cent by 2017.

Meanwhile Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday trumpeted plans for new contracts with GPs aimed at seeing a "return to the old-fashioned values of family doctors," but neglected to go into detail about how they will be funded.

The changes will mean every person aged 75 and over will be assigned a named, accountable GP to ensure that patients receive co-ordinated care.

GPs will also take on more responsibility for out-of-hours care, with a commitment to monitor the quality of out-of-hours services used by their patients.

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said: "No amount of spin can hide the fact that David Cameron has made it harder to get a GP appointment. There is nothing in this new contract to correct that."