GP surgery refurbs to enable over 8 million more appointments
Source: gov.uk (2025-05-06)

Patients to access over 8.3 million new appointments this year, helping deliver the government’s Plan for Change.

Patients will benefit from over 8.3 million more appointments each year as over 1,000 doctors surgeries receive a bricks and mortar upgrade to modernise practices.

Backed by the government’s major cash injection of over £102 million, over 1,000 GP surgeries will receive vital funding to create additional space to see more patients, boost productivity and improve patient care, following years of neglect.

Right now, many GP surgeries could be seeing more patients, but do not have enough room or the right facilities to accommodate them. From creating new consultation and treatment rooms to making better use of existing space, these quick fixes will help patients across the country be seen faster.

This represents the biggest investment in GP facilities in 5 years and is only possible because of the difficult choices made by the government to invest £26 billion into the NHS. It is another measure helping the government shift care out of hospital and into the community, as part of its Plan for Change (https://www.gov.uk/missions).

Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said:

It will be a long road, but this government is putting in the work to fix our NHS and make it fit for the future.

These are simple fixes for our GP surgeries but for too long they were left to ruin, allowing waiting lists to build and stopping doctors treating more patients.

It is only because of the necessary decisions we took in the Budget that we are able to invest in GP surgeries, start tackling the 8am scramble and deliver better services for patients. The extra investment and reform this government is making, as part of its Plan for Change, will transform our NHS so it can once again be there for you when you need it.

In Norwich, Prospect Medical Practice - serving nearly 7,000 patients in some of the city’s most deprived areas - will create new clinical rooms to deliver more patient consultations.

In the Black Country, vacant office spaces in Harden Health Centre will be converted into clinical consulting rooms, allowing more patient access to primary care.

Dr Amanda Doyle, National Director for Primary Care and Community Services, said:

We know more needs to be done to improve patient access to general practice and this investment in over 1,000 primary care premises will help do this.

Bringing GP premises up to a similar condition across England is important to improve patient experience of NHS services, while making primary care a better working environment as we seek to retain and recruit more staff.

It will also help to create additional space and extend the capacity of current premises as we improve access further and bring care closer to the communities where people live as part of the 10 Year Health Plan.

Lord Darzi’s independent report (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-investigation-of-the-nhs-in-england) found that outdated, inefficient buildings create barriers to delivering high-quality patient care and reduce staff productivity. Today’s boost will tackle this, to make services fit for the future.

Lord Ara Darzi said:

My review found that the primary care estate is simply not fit for purpose, with many GP surgeries housed in inflexible, outdated buildings that cannot enable safe, high-quality care. Today’s investment marks a crucial turning point in addressing this long-standing issue, helping create the modern, purpose-built primary care facilities that patients and staff deserve.

This is the first national capital fund for primary care estates since 2020 and part of a comprehensive package of GP support, alongside recruiting 1,500 additional GPs and reducing bureaucracy.

Projects will be delivered during the 2025 to 2026 financial year, with the first upgrades expected to begin in summer 2025.

Rachel Power, Chief Executive of the Patients Association, said:

Today’s investment in improving GP surgeries is a much-needed step towards better access to care closer to home.

Our reporting shows nearly one-third of patients struggle to book GP appointments, and we have long highlighted what matters in healthcare facilities: truly accessible spaces where everyone receives care with dignity. The potential for 8.3 million additional appointments from these refurbishments will make a real difference to communities waiting for care.

Crucially, it delivers on what patients themselves have called for: modern, accessible spaces that support high-quality care. We look forward to seeing these upgrades rolled out, with a continued focus on ensuring patients everywhere get timely support in settings that support their dignity. This investment represents a meaningful step toward realising what patients have long been asking for.

Ruth Rankine, Primary Care Director at the NHS Confederation, said:

GPs and their teams welcome this vital capital funding to modernise premises to deliver high-quality care, closer to home and fit for the 21st century.

Primary care is the front door of the health service and has been managing increasing demand, yet a historic lack of capital funding in estates has been one of the biggest barriers to improving productivity and creating buildings suitable for modern health care - with a fifth of GP estates pre-dating the NHS and half more than 30 years old.

If we are serious about shifting care from hospital to community, from sickness to prevention, and from analogue to digital, then sustained investment in primary and community estates, equipment and technology is vital.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said:

Our last survey of members found that 2 in 5 GPs considered their premises unfit for purpose. This not only makes for a poor experience for both patients and practice staff, but it restricts the care and services a practice can provide. Nearly 90% of respondents to our survey said their practice did not have enough consulting rooms, and three-quarters did not have enough space to take on additional GP trainees.

Today’s announcement is an encouraging interim measure that shows the government is listening and acknowledges that inadequate GP infrastructure needs to be addressed. We now need to see this followed up by further long-term investment.

These upgrades complement the government’s wider NHS reforms, recognising that investment alone is not enough and fundamental reform is essential to fix our broken healthcare system.

The government is:
- cutting pointless red tape through the new GP contract
- expanding the NHS App to put patients in control of their healthcare
- introducing the Advice and Guidance scheme to reduce unnecessary referrals
- enabling community pharmacists to prescribe for routine conditions with a new investment package
Together, these changes free up clinicians’ time and bring care closer to home.

This is just the beginning of the transformation of primary care. Through our 10 Year Health Plan more care will be shifted out of hospitals and into communities where patients can access it more easily.

This government is going further and faster than ever to turn around the NHS, making it fit for the future. Over 3.1 million elective appointments have already been delivered since July 2024, 6 months ahead of schedule.

See the full list of supported schemes in the Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund 2025 to 2026 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/primary-care-utilisation-and-modernisation-fund-2025-to-2026).