Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to provide (a) support and (b) resources to help GP surgeries clear (i) patient backlogs and (ii) increasing workloads in Hitchin constituency.

The Government intends to fix the front door to the National Health Service, and increase the proportion of funding for primary care. We understand that this will require both investment and reform. We will also make sure the future of general practice (GP) is sustainable by training thousands more GPs across the country, to take the pressure off those currently working within the system, ensure increased capacity across the NHS, and to secure a future pipeline of GPs. Additionally, NHS England has made a number of recruitment and retention schemes available to GPs.

The Government will bring back the family doctor, incentivising continuity of care so patients can see the same doctor at each appointment, which is key in reducing duplication of work, so patients with ongoing or complex conditions get the best care possible.