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Access to GPs 2025-06-23
23 June 2025
Lead MP
Alex Easton
Debate Type
Adjournment Debate
Tags
NHSEmploymentNorthern IrelandScotland
Other Contributors: 11
At a Glance
Alex Easton raised concerns about access to gps 2025-06-23 in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Lead Contributor
Opened the debate
The ability to access GPs and maintain face-to-face appointments is a pressing issue that affects not just my constituency of North Down but constituencies across the UK. Across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, considerable inequalities exist in access to GP services. Evidence indicates that Northern Ireland receives the lowest investment in GP services among the four regions of the UK. Although the figure in Northern Ireland has recently increased to 57%, the disparity remains worrying. GPs are often the first point of contact for medical attention and their role is vital. However, as the MP for North Down, I share the concerns of many regarding the growing demand for GP healthcare services and the accessibility of these essential services for my constituents.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Does the hon. Member agree that trust in some GP surgeries has diminished due to the lack of face-to-face contact?
Robin Swann
UUP
South Antrim
This is a debate about GP access across the United Kingdom, but one issue in Northern Ireland is GPs’ ability to access indemnity insurance.
Dorking and Horley
4,000 residents in Westvale Park were promised a GP, but the NHS has not provided the operational funding required for a GP.
Warinder Juss
Lab
Wolverhampton West
Does the hon. Member agree that we need to address the disparity he mentioned—the inequality in GP funding allocations—across the United Kingdom?
Tom Morrison
LD
Cheadle
A resident from Bramhall has difficulty getting blood donation appointments and has to travel elsewhere, indicating inadequate access.
There is a mismatch between the number of GPs qualifying and available positions, leading to unemployment among new graduates despite high demand for GP services.
Tom Gordon
LD
Harrogate and Knaresborough
A local surgery lacks consulting rooms due to delayed funding from community infrastructure levy and other sources, hindering staff recruitment.
Access issues in Strangford involve long wait times on the phone for appointments, whereas turning up early at the surgery can secure a same-day appointment.
Training programmes should include management and business skills to better equip GPs who wish to run practices independently.
Ben Maguire
LD
North Cornwall
Stratton surgery in his constituency needs access to unused clinical spaces but is facing delays from the ICB.
Stephen Kinnock
Lab
Ablethorpe
I will certainly congratulate Dr Viv Poskitt—I think I have got the name right—on being a GP, although I will probably not congratulate her on being a Liberal Democrat town councillor. The hon. Gentleman is right: GPs are the backbone, or the beating heart, of our NHS. They represent the front door, and we must fix that front door, which is currently creaking on its hinges. This Government are absolutely committed to fixing it, and to moving on from there to fix our NHS, get it back on its feet and make it fit for the future.
Government Response
I thank the hon. Member for North Down (Alex Easton) for raising GP access, which is a vital matter for so many of our constituents. When we ask people what their top priority for the NHS is, the chances are that they will say it is to fix general practice, because GPs are the front door to our national health service. They are the first port of call for millions of people, and they perform a vital service by delivering care in communities right across our country. Of course, health is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, and decisions about GP services there rightly sit with the Northern Ireland Executive and at Stormont. Nevertheless, this Government are committed to being an active partner in helping to deliver better public service outcomes across the UK while respecting the devolution settlement. The Minister acknowledged the systemic challenges within the NHS, including workforce pressures and geographical imbalances. He highlighted that the Government has secured a record £889 million increase in the GP contract, leading to additional recruitment efforts through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), with over 1,700 GPs recruited as part of this initiative. The Minister also discussed the importance of online booking facilities and digital access options to improve patient engagement and reduce administrative burdens for GPs. He announced a £102 million fund for primary care infrastructure improvements, aiming to create more clinical space in GP practices across England. Furthermore, he committed to transforming how care is delivered through an integrated neighbourhood health service model, which will bring various services together to provide seamless support for patients. The Minister also invited MPs to write to him with specific issues such as securing unused clinical spaces. We have directly provided £61 million to assist the expansion of the multidisciplinary team approach across Northern Ireland, which will help to stabilise primary care, focus on the prevention and management of conditions away from hospital settings, and better utilise the skills of the community and voluntary sector. We will provide additional funding by 2028-29 to bring back the family doctor by supporting the training of thousands more GPs and delivering millions more appointments over the spending review period, and will build further on the 1,700 additional GPs who have already been recruited. Through these improvements, we are making a difference to patient satisfaction: the latest health insight survey shows a sustained improvement in satisfaction, with 72.5% of patients who contacted their general practices in the past 28 days reporting a good overall experience—up from 67.4% in July 2024.
This Government are delivering concrete results, because we believe that everyone deserves access to high-quality care closer to home. I am delighted that general practitioners committee England voted in favour of this year’s GP contract in March. This is the first time the contract has been accepted in four years. The agreement resets our relationship and marks a turning point—a shared commitment to work together on behalf of patients and practitioners alike. The changes in the contract will streamline targets for GPs, incentivise improved continuity of care, make progress towards our health mission and, crucially, require practices to make it possible for patients to go online to request an appointment throughout the duration of core opening hours. Those changes are backed by an extra £889 million, representing cash growth of more than 7% in overall contract investment.
The NHS belongs to the people. Those are not just my words; they are in the NHS constitution. Everything that this Government have done since the election has been geared towards saving the NHS, giving it back to the people and getting it back on its feet. We are putting power back into the hands of patients, where it rightly belongs, because this is their health service and it must work for them. Ensuring that every patient has access to the care that they need is not just a priority, but a promise.
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