Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

GPs: Continuity of Care

Tuesday 1 November 2022 · 8 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 8 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Health and Social Care Committee report highlights the importance of continuity of care, noting a trade-off between speed of access and continuity.
  • The Government have invested an extra 1.5 billion for 50 million additional general practice appointments by 2024 to meet demand and diversify staff.
  • Focusing on the skills of the primary care workforce as a whole, including women's health specialists, is seen as crucial.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Michael Fabricant Con
NHS
Context

The MP questions whether the government supports continuity of care between GPs and their patients, highlighting studies from other countries showing better health outcomes with consistent GP relationships.

Question

Whether he supports the continuity of care and long-term relationship between a GP and their patients. Investigations in the US and Australia show that close patient-GP relationships lead to better morbidity and A&E visit outcomes.

Answer from Steve Barclay

The recent Health and Social Care Committee report highlights the importance of continuity of care, noting a trade-off between speed of access and continuity. Two in five patients want continuity with their GP, more relevant for complex cases.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not directly confirm or deny support for continuity of care

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Q2 Michael Fabricant Con
NHS
Context

The MP raises concerns about the lack of continuity in patient care and asks for government initiatives to support continuous care between GPs and patients.

Question

What can the Government do to encourage a long-term relationship between GPs and their patients, given studies showing better health outcomes with consistent GP relationships?

Answer from Steve Barclay

My hon. Friend raises an important point. The trade-off exists between speed of access and continuity of care, more pertinent for complex cases where continuity adds most value.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific actions to promote continuity of care

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Q3 Seema Malhotra Labour (Co-op) Feltham and Heston
NHS
Context

The MP mentions a significant decrease in GPs over the past decade, leading to difficulties accessing appointments and reduced continuity of care.

Question

With 5,000 fewer GPs and many practice closures, how will the Secretary of State address the lack of GP appointments and reduced continuity of care impacting patient effectiveness?

Answer from Steve Barclay

Around 80,000 more GP appointments a day are happening. The Government have invested an extra £1.5 billion for 50 million additional general practice appointments by 2024 to meet demand and diversify staff.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not address reduced continuity of care

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Q4 Mike Penning Con
NHS
Context

The MP highlights the importance of men seeking regular GP appointments, especially for conditions like prostate cancer, and asks what initiatives will be taken to encourage this.

Question

To promote men's coming forward to see their GPs for diseases such as prostate cancer, particularly on Movember day (1 November), what will the Secretary of State do?

Answer from Steve Barclay

I pay tribute to the work my right hon. Friend is doing to raise awareness. Campaigns such as Movember are great for raising awareness, and we aim to ensure patients can access face-to-face appointments.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not specify concrete steps to increase GP visits by men

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Q5 Tim Farron Lib Dem Westmorland and Lonsdale
NHS
Context

The MP expresses concern about the loss of GPs in Cumbria and requests special attention to ensuring continuity of care, particularly addressing funding issues for small surgeries.

Question

In Cumbria, one in six GPs have been lost. Will the Secretary of State ensure a new contract at Central Lakes medical practice guarantees GP services? Also, will he consider bringing back a sustainable small surgeries fund?

Answer from Steve Barclay

We are investing in more GP training with an increase from 2,671 in 2014 to 4,000. We also introduced a payment of £20,000 to encourage GPs into hard-to-recruit areas.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not specify special attention for Central Lakes medical practice

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Q6 Steve Brine Con
NHS
Context

The MP discusses the benefits of higher levels of continuity in general practice and asks if there are plans to limit the size of patients a GP can have or reintroduce personal lists in the contract.

Question

Is the new ministerial team open to limiting the list size of patients per GP? Would they like to see personal lists reimplemented during their tenure?

Answer from Steve Barclay

We are evidence-led, so I look forward to discussing with the GP workforce how we can work together constructively. Continuity of care is more weighted towards those with complex needs.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not specify plans for patient list limitations or personal lists

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Q7 Rachael Maskell Labour (Co-op) York Central
NHS
Context

The MP references the committee's report showing that continuity of care is best for patient safety, asking how headroom will be created at practice level to implement this.

Question

How will the Secretary of State create headroom at the practice level to reorient local services towards better continuity of care? Will he adopt the Health and Social Care Committee report's findings in full?

Answer from Steve Barclay

We announced national retention schemes under the GP contract framework 2020-21 to retain more GPs. We are also boosting training numbers to get more GPs into the pipeline.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not specify measures for creating headroom or full adoption of committee recommendations

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Q8 Feryal Clark Lab Enfield North
NHS
Context

The question follows a decade-long trend where the Conservative government has cut 4,700 GPs. Patients are struggling to access GP appointments with their regular doctors.

Question

Patients find it impossible to get a GP appointment in the manner they want due to cuts of 4,700 GPs over the last decade by this Conservative Government. Seeing the same doctor improves patient care but is becoming increasingly rare. Even the Chancellor wishes more had been done for continuity of care, so why isn't the Secretary of State matching Labour's ambition to bring back the family doctor?

Answer from Steve Barclay

The number of GPs in training is up and there are more GP appointments because patient demand has increased. The focus should be on the skills of the primary care workforce as a whole, including women's health specialists who offer services beyond general practitioners.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about restoring continuity of care through regular GP appointments was not addressed with a concrete commitment or timeline.

How: Changed Subject To Overall Primary Care Workforce

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