Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which increased demand on accident and emergency services is influenced by the lack of a comprehensive primary care health service.

No formal assessment has been made of the relationship between primary care services and accident and emergency attendances.

Extended access to more convenient appointments later in the evening and at weekends in general practice is now in place for 52% of the population (as at October 2017) and is expected to deliver an additional 9 million consultations following 100% population coverage from October 2018.

Additional comprehensive urgent and emergency care programmes continue to be delivered to help to ease pressures on accident and emergency services and improve the flow of patients through hospitals, such as Urgent Treatment Centres, front door clinical streaming, NHS 111 and the development of NHS 111 Online.