Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Tugendhat Excerpts

Tuesday 8th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling (Tom Tugendhat) has beetled into the Chamber like a perspiring postman just in time. It is very good to see the fellow.

[Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge and Malling) (Con)]

11. What steps he is taking to increase the capacity and availability of GP services.

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

We want all NHS patients to be able to access appointments in the evenings and at weekends. Thanks to our programme, 40% of the population currently do so, and that will rise to 100% next October.

[Tom Tugendhat]

Forgive me for rushing in; I was tied up with Committee matters.

My right hon. Friend has set out a great vision for the national health service over recent years, and I very much welcome it, but does he agree that, in local areas, some of the GP provision could do with a little more work? I am particularly thinking of West Malling in my own constituency where a large element of the community is finding it harder to get access, and there is a danger that the GP surgery may leave the high street.

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to that issue. He does have, I think, 28 more GPs in the west Kent clinical commissioning group area than in 2010, but there is a particular issue over premises. The need to invest in premises is deterring younger GPs from becoming partners, and sometimes making GP surgeries unviable. We are looking at that problem now.