The charity will highlight the need to boost men's access to primary care in its submission to the House of Commons public bill committee.

Men's Health Forum chief executive Peter Baker said: 'Men are often reluctant to go to the doctor and when they do go their condition is often more advanced and therefore harder and more expensive to treat.'

He said there were changes surgeries could make to encourage more men to attend. 'One of the things we would like to see is GPs making appointment systems easier,' he said.

The charity said men who work full time often do not have time to book appointments because they are unable to call between eight and nine in the morning.

'It would be easier for men if surgeries used online appointment systems,' Mr Baker said. 'Some surgeries are running these systems but we would like to see it used on a wider scale.'

The charity also wants more practices using automated telephone booking systems, he said.