GP Services — House of Commons, 2015-02-05
Topic: Health
John Derek Twigg (Labour, Centre-left): I beg to move, That this House notes the vital role played by local GP services in communities throughout the UK, with an estimated one million patients receiving care from a family doctor or nurse every day; believes that the UK’s tradition of excellent general practice provision is a central factor in the NHS being consistently ranked as one of the world’s best health services by the independent Commonwealth Fund; expresses concern, therefore, that the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), through its Put patients first: Back general practice campaign, is warning that these services are under severe strain, with increasing concerns raised by constituents about access to their GP and 91 per cent of GPs saying general practice does not have sufficient resources to deliver high quality patient care; further notes that the share of NHS funding spent on general practice has fallen to an all-time low of 8.3 per cent, and that over 300,000 people across the UK have signed the campaign petition calling for this trend to be reversed; welcomes the emphasis placed in NHS England’s Five Year Forward View on strengthening general practice and giving GPs a central role in developing new models of care integrated around patients; and calls on the Secretary of State for Health to work with NHS England and the RCGP to secure the financial future of local GP services as a matter of urgency I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for providing the House with the opportunity to debate the important subject of sustainable GP services. I am also grateful for colleagues’ support for the debate application. Some of those Members are here, including the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas), who spoke in the Committee in support of the application as a co-sponsor The debate is timely, given the increasing pressures on the NHS and its hard-working staff. I put on record my appreciation for the hard work and dedication of doctors, nurses and all the staff who work in our health service. Their dedication is keeping the health service going at a particularly difficult time. I also want to put on the record my thanks to the Royal College of General Practitioners for its support, the information it has provided and its campaign One of the key reasons for seeking the debate is that, increasingly, constituents have been contacting me to tell me that it is becoming more difficult to get an appointment with a GP of their choice without having to wait many days or even weeks. Sometimes they are not able to see the GP of their choice at all. That, of course, varies between practices. There is no doubt that the overwhelming majority of GPs do an excellent job. That has been demonstrated by patient surveys, but there is always room for improvement There is little doubt about the growing demands on general practice caused by demographic changes and more complex health needs, exacerbated by an ageing population. Increasingly, a large part of GPs’ daily work load is on mental health, which would probably merit a debate in itself. That matter needs to be addressed continuously.