Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of general practice capacity in the Cannock Chase constituency.

We know that patients are finding it harder than ever to see a general practitioner (GP). This was highlighted in Lord Darzi’s review, and we are committed to fixing this crisis in GPs.

Our plan to increase the number of GP appointments delivered will require both investment and reform. We have already invested £82 million to recruit over 1,000 newly qualified GPs through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. This will increase the number of appointments delivered in GPs and take pressure off those currently working in the system. We will also train thousands more GPs, securing the future of the workforce, and will end the 8:00am scramble for GP appointments by introducing a modern booking system.

Cannock Chase sits within the NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board, where 486,000 appointments were delivered in August 2024. In August 2023, they delivered 507,000 appointments. This is a decrease of 4.3%.