Oral Answers to Questions

Scott Mann Excerpts

Tuesday 5th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Alistair Burt]

The hon. Lady is quite right. As my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary said in relation to that urgent question, this is a wider concern. That is why the Care Quality Commission is looking at the picture of what has happened nationally. These deaths have not been investigated appropriately in the past, and that must change. This Government are determined to change a range of things in relation to mental health and learning disabilities, and this is one area that has been forgotten for too long. It has now been brought to light, and work is being done by the Government.

[Scott Mann (North Cornwall) (Con)]

2. What progress his Department is making on increasing access to GP services.

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

Welcome back, Mr Speaker. As part of our commitment to a seven-day NHS, we want all patients to be able to make routine appointments at their GP surgeries in the evenings and at weekends, and 2,500 out of 8,000 surgeries are currently running schemes to make that possible.

[Scott Mann]

Many working people are asked to phone their GP surgeries very early in the morning to book appointments, but that is not always convenient when they are going about their day-to-day work. Will my right hon. Friend tell me whether priority will be given at weekends to people who are working during the week?

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That system does not work for people who have to go to work, and we want to make it easier for people to book appointments online or using an app on their phone. We also want to make it easier for people living in rural areas such as his constituency of North Cornwall to have telehealth appointments where appropriate, so that they can see someone without actually having to go to the surgery.