I am very much aware that one issue that many local people have concerns about is the availability of face-to-face GP appointments. I understand how important it is for people in Mid-Cornwall to be able to get a GP appointment when they need one and have regularly been raising constituent concerns with Ministers.
I also regularly meet with local GPs, so also recognise the pressures they are up against. I believe it is important to highlight that GPs across the country are facing unprecedented demand, with more than 30 million appointments booked in March this year alone. Demand for GP appointments is up by 30% since the COVID pandemic.
However, despite the pressures on our GPs, they are working hard to maintain access with a million appointments delivered every day and half a million more appointments delivered every week compared to pre-pandemic. This represents a rise of over 10% in the availability of GP appointments, but it is clear this is not meeting the increase in demand.
While we are also spending more money on general practice than ever before, I and the government recognise that we must do more to help general practice through the record levels of demand it now faces.
That is why I am pleased to see the government has now launched a new plan which will modernise the way primary care works and enable it to keep up with patient demand as well as cut waiting lists.
The Primary Care Recovery Plan, announced last week, builds on the government’s Urgent and Emergency Care plans, which I covered earlier this year, and means patients in St Austell and Newquay will be able to access care more quickly for their health needs through their GP or pharmacy services.
The plan focuses on three main areas to make it easier for people to get the help they need: tackling the 8am rush for GP appointments; funding pharmacists to offer more treatment to free up GP appointments; and also providing more GP staff.
I appreciate how frustrating it can be when you’re stuck on hold to your GP practice waiting to book an appointment. That is why I am glad that this new plan will make sure patients are either given an appointment immediately when they call or signposted to a more appropriate service such as NHS 111 or their local pharmacy.
The government will be investing £35,000 per practice to provide new technology for GPs to make it easier to get through and get a response on the same day. This means investing in better phone systems so that you won’t get the engaged tone and improving digital access so that many more issues can be dealt with online, freeing up phone lines for those who need to call.
I am also pleased to see the government will be introducing a new NHS service, Pharmacy First, backed by £645 million over the next two years to enable pharmacists to provide treatment for minor illnesses. This will help to take some of the pressure off GPs and also provides a convenient alternative route for patients.
Pharmacists will be able to supply prescription-only medicines for common illnesses such as ear pain; severe sore throat; skin infections and urinary infections. They will also be able to start courses of oral contraception and help people manage blood pressure.
This is something Cornwall is already leading the way with as last
year pharmacies in the Duchy began offering face-to-face assessments for a wide
range of minor ailments, and NHS treatment as required – the first service of
its kind in England – following a successful pilot scheme in 2021.
It is great to see Cornwall trail-blazing yet again and our pharmacies showing the rest of the country how successful this service can be. We are leading the way on this here in Cornwall, so I know just how crucial community pharmacies’ services are, not only as part of the solution to the NHS pressures in primary care, but also for patients as it is timely and convenient. Hopefully the rest of the country can now follow our lead.
Recruiting more staff in general practice and delivering more appointments are also a vital part of the government’s plan, which will ensure we have an extra 26,000 clinicians and 50 million extra appointments by March next year.
The forthcoming NHS workforce plan will set out plans to expand GP training while the recent reforms to pension rules will also help us to retain senior GPs rather than retiring early.
The government will be cutting bureaucracy to free up GP time by reducing unnecessary targets, improving communication between GPs and hospitals, and reducing GPs having to do work that non-GPs can do. Patients will also now be able to self-refer for some services, including physiotherapy, hearing tests, and podiatry, without seeing their GP first. This will save around £37,000 of resources per practice meaning our GPs can spend more time caring for patients.
The actions set out in the plan are expected to free up around 15 million GP appointments over the next two years for patients who need them most.
More details about the government’s plan can be found on the gov.uk website.
This summer, the NHS will mark 75 years of service and that is why it is important that we continue to support primary care services so that they can adapt and innovate to meet the needs of both patients and GPs so that they can still be around in another 75 years.
As I like to remind people, there are no quick fixes to solving the serious long-term challenges facing GPs, but for now I will continue to work with the local NHS and government to ensure we make the most of this plan and patients in Cornwall receive the care they need and deserve.
As always, if I can be of assistance on this matter or any other, please get in touch with my office on 01726 829329 or email office@stevedouble.org.uk
