Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of GP surgeries running above capacity on the delivery of health services.

The 2023 GP Patient Survey showed that of the patients who could not get an appointment at their general practice, over one in 10 went to accident and emergency, which has worse outcomes for patients and is more expensive for the taxpayer. To address this, we are seeking to increase capacity and appointment availability in general practice, improving access for patients. For example, we have recruited over 1,500 newly qualified general practitioners through an £82 million investment in the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme.