Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to take steps to improve primary care support for people with chronic health issues in order to alleviate pressure on A&E departments.

‘Our plan for patients,’ published on 22 September 2022, aims to improve access general practice, assist patients make informed choices on the appropriate general practitioner (GP) practice for their needs practice and benefit from the care options available. This includes patients with chronic health issues and we expect that patients who require an appointment within two weeks should receive one and that patients with urgent needs should be seen on the same day.

Under the new medicines service, community pharmacies can offer people who have been newly prescribed certain medicines with additional support and reduce pressure on GPs and hospitals. The majority of services for those with long term chronic conditions are commissioned locally by integrated care boards, with NHS England directly commissioning some specialised services.