Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Primary Care: Patient Access

Tuesday 23 April 2024 · 6 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 4 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Primary care recovery plan enhances GP access by expanding community pharmacy services nationwide.
  • Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB received 36 million for its operational capital budget in 2023-24, with over 118 million for the spending review period.
  • Government plans to raise the number of training places for GPs to 6,000 by 2031-32.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Rachel Hopkins Lab Luton South and South Bedfordshire
NHS
Context

The questioner raises concerns about the current state of GP services in her constituency, highlighting the need for enhanced access to primary care.

Question

What steps are you taking to improve patient access to primary care?

Answer from Andrea Leadsom

We are enormously grateful for the work of GPs in delivering 64 million more appointments nationally than in 2019. Our primary care recovery plan enhances GP access by expanding community pharmacy services nationwide. Some 98% of community pharmacies have signed up to the Pharmacy First offer, with over 125,000 consultations claimed in the first month.

Answered
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Q2 Alistair Strathern Lab Hitchin
NHS
Context

The questioner highlights issues with GP ratios and housing growth in Bedfordshire, stressing the need for better GP capacity.

Question

Across Bedfordshire, we suffer from patient to GP ratios that are well in excess of the national average; high housing growth is simply not matched by GP capacity. What more can we do to ensure that areas with high housing growth have the GP capacity that residents deserve?

Answer from Andrea Leadsom

The hon. Gentleman raises a really important point. He may be aware that the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB received £36 million for its operational capital budget in 2023-24, with over £118 million for this spending review period. That operational capital is core funding provided to ICBs for delivering primary care, among other things. In addition, he will be aware that ICBs are able to provide input to planning permissions to ensure that primary care is delivered where there are new housing developments.

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Q3 Kerry McCarthy Lab Bristol East
NHS
Context

The questioner mentions long waiting times for GP appointments and pharmacy services in her constituency, expressing dissatisfaction with current NHS conditions.

Question

When I speak to my constituents in Brislington, they tell me they have to wait an inordinate time to get through on the phone to their GPs at the Brooklea health centre, and wait over two weeks for appointments. Constituents in Fishponds have been told that it is over an hour's wait for prescription medication at the local pharmacy—and we all know the situation with dentists. Does the Minister agree that a general election is the only way to sort out these problems in the NHS?

Answer from Andrea Leadsom

I certainly do not agree. If Labour were in government, we would see significantly worse outcomes. In Bristol North, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire —38.4% of all appointments were delivered on the same day they were booked in February this year, and 84% were delivered within two weeks of booking, with 66% of them face to face.

Not addressed: The questioner asked whether a general election is necessary but the answerer avoided addressing it directly.

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Q4 Rachel Hopkins Lab Luton South and South Bedfordshire
NHS
Context

The questioner is concerned about the number of patients per GP in her area being nearly 25% higher than the national average, questioning why the government plans to reduce the proportion of doctors trained as GPs.

Question

I have listened to the Minister's comments, but the number of patients per GP in the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes area is nearly 25% higher than the national average. Will the Minister explain why her Government think it is a good idea to cut the proportion of doctors being trained as GPs from around one in three to around one in four?

Answer from Andrea Leadsom

The hon. Lady is simply wrong. She will be aware that, in fact, our long-term workforce plan is intended to raise the number of training places for GPs to 6,000 by 2031-32. In 2022, we had over 4,000 new GPs apply to take training places—an absolute record.

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Q5 Andrea Jenkyns Con
NHS
Context

The questioner discusses constituents who are experiencing difficulties in accessing dental care, highlighting the need for government intervention.

Question

Last week, a constituent contacted me to say that her teeth crumbled during pregnancy and she was unable to get a dentist appointment. Another constituent, who was in agony, desperately pleaded for help to find a dentist. My own son, Clifford, has been waiting two years for a tooth extraction, and I have received hundreds of emails about similar issues. What plans do the Government have to sort this out once and for all?

Answer from Andrea Leadsom

My hon. Friend raises an incredibly important point. We know that because all dentists were locked down during covid, the recovery in access to NHS care has not been as fast as we would like. That is why we announced our dentistry recovery plan, including a new patient premium, which, since it was launched on 1 March, has already seen hundreds of thousands of new NHS patients who have not seen a dentist in two years.

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Q6 Siobhan Baillie
NHS
Context

The questioner expresses concern about the Labour party's proposal to scrap the GP partnership model, emphasizing that this model is efficient in her constituency.

Question

My GPs are working extraordinarily hard to increase access in the face of ever increasing public demand. I am alarmed by the Labour party's talk about scrapping the GP partnership model, as I find in the Stroud district that GP practices are some of the most efficient parts of our NHS services. They need support, the removal of bureaucracy and the opening up of funding pots, rather than dismantling. Will my right hon. Friend explain how access to primary care would not be helped by removing the partnership model?

Answer from Andrea Leadsom

My hon. Friend makes a fantastic point, and I say again that GPs absolutely underpin our primary care. We all absolutely rely on them, and our measures to create 36,000 additional roles in GP practices will provide them with the additional capacity they need so that they can serve their patients better.

Not addressed: The questioner asked about scrapping the GP partnership model but the answerer avoided addressing it directly.

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