Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether their 10-year plan for the NHS will address the distribution of resources between (1) primary and secondary care and (2) urban and rural areas.

General practices (GPs) and primary care have been receiving a smaller proportion of National Health Service resources, and we’re committed to reversing that and shifting the focus of care out of hospitals and into the community. Additionally, we acknowledge the pressing challenge of ensuring that rural areas have the resources to continue serving their patients.

We have already invested £82 million to recruit 1,000 newly qualified GPs to combat this, and our 10-Year Health Plan will outline steps to shift care from hospitals back to the community and to a Neighbourhood Health Service, which will bring together vital health and care services, ensuring healthcare is closer to home. We will also train more doctors to increase capacity and take the pressure of people currently working in the system.