Access to GPs
Debate between Chris Coghlan and Alex Easton(1 week, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Alex Easton
I agree, and perhaps the Minister will take that point on board in looking at how we can improve our GP services.
One of the significant challenges across the UK is the shortage of GPs, which inevitably leads to longer waiting times and, unfortunately, sometimes to a compromised quality of care.
Chris Coghlan (Dorking and Horley) (LD)
On that point, 4,000 residents in Westvale Park, a new housing development in my constituency, were promised a GP, and they had legally binding section 106 agreements in place. The construction money is there for a GP surgery, but the NHS has not provided the operational funding required for a GP. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the NHS should be providing the operational funding for new GP services on housing developments, and that the entire Government case for new housing developments is undermined if this infrastructure is not provided?
Alex Easton
I totally agree. There is no point in building new houses if we are not going to put in the infrastructure, including health infrastructure and GPs.
While I welcome initiatives aimed at recruiting and retaining GPs, it is concerning that in Northern Ireland we have recruited only 121 GPs when we need 161 merely to restore the levels we had in 2014. The growing UK population, coupled with increasingly complex health needs, is exerting significant pressure on existing resources. In Northern Ireland alone, the population has risen by 70,000 over a decade, while 38 GP practices have closed—a reduction of 11%. It seems clear that as the population grows, funding should increase. We must also recognise that since April 2023, there have been 17 GP contract hand-backs, resulting in a decrease of 12 GP practices, leaving us with a total of 305.