Oral Answers to Questions

Katrina Murray Excerpts

Tuesday 15th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Katrina Murray (Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch) (Lab)]

14. What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of patient access to primary care services.

[Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)]

17. What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of patient access to primary care services.

--- Later in debate ---

[Stephen Kinnock]

The hon. Member is absolutely right: there are seriously under-doctored areas of the country. Given the finite resources that we have, we must focus on areas with the greatest need. I would be more than happy to meet him to discuss how that might best be reflected in his constituency.

[Katrina Murray]

Access to GP appointments is consistently raised with me in Cumbernauld. A number of constituents have informed me that, having made complaints, they have been removed from the list of the general practice at which they have been patients for many years. Will the Minister raise the matter with the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, so that we can get some resolution for my constituents?

[Stephen Kinnock]

Patients have an absolute right to complain about NHS services, and they should not be removed from a practice’s list because of a complaint they have made. Health is of course devolved, but I have asked officials in the Department to engage with their Scottish Government counterparts on that matter to ensure that patients in my hon. Friend’s constituency are treated with the respect and compassion that they deserve.