I met with the Health Minister, Andrea Leadsom MP, this week to again push my campaign for better local health services and for our infrastructure to keep up with all the new housing that is being built.
I have been campaigning for better health services since I was elected, and for our infrastructure to keep up with housebuilding – raising it with various Ministers including the Prime Minister. I carried out a Health Services Survey to give everyone the opportunity to share their thoughts about the improvements we need to our health services, especially GP surgeries, which thousands of local people responded to.
Following this, I secured a debate on local health services during which I shared the results to make the case directly to the Health Minister that we need more and better local health services, including access to GP appointments – although the local authorities and health leaders also have to take action.
The Government is rightly working to ensure access to GP appointments and that GPs see patients face-to-face – and has invested more than £2 billion to help ensure this. For the year ending October 2023, there were 50.9 million more GP appointments compared to October 2019 but there’s more to do.
We are also rightly ending the 8am rush by making 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. People will no longer be told to call back later and as part of this, £240 million is being given to practices across England to embrace the latest technology.
£645 million is also being invested to expand the services offered by pharmacies. Under ‘Pharmacy First’, pharmacists will be able to provide treatment for common conditions and supply prescription-only medicines for ear pain, severe sore throat, skin infections and urinary infections – as well as oral contraception. This is aimed at freeing up an estimated 2 million appointments.
I will keep campaigning on this and was pleased to discuss all this with the Minister who is now going to write to the ICB on our behalf.
