Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they offer to general practitioners in meeting the demands placed on them.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We hugely value the critical role that general practitioners (GPs) play, and we are determined to address the issues they face by shifting the focus of the National Health Service beyond hospitals and into the community.
We have committed to training thousands more GPs across the country, as well as taking pressure off those currently working in the system. The inclusion of newly qualified GPs into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) will also support the recruitment of GPs.
The ARRS provides funding for a number of additional roles to help create bespoke, multi-disciplinary teams. All these roles are in place to assist GPs in reducing their workload and assisting patients directly with their needs, allowing doctors to focus on more complex patients and other priorities, including continuity of care.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many vacancies are currently available for general practitioners in primary care, and how many newly qualified general practitioners are seeking appointment.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 (a) help prevent burnout and (b) increase the capacity of postgraduate GP trainers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We hugely value the critical role that general practitioners (GPs) play, and we are determined to address the issues they face. We recognise that burnout among postgraduate GP trainers is a risk that needs to be tackled, as highlighted in the General Medical Council’s National Trainer Survey. We will continue to work with the National Health Service and profession to understand how we can help GPs and improve their working environment.
The Government is committed to reducing bureaucracy and paperwork for GPs, an intention we stated at the Royal College of General Practitioners Annual Conference earlier this month. This will be an important step in reducing burnout risk, which is often reported to be due to workload challenges.
NHS England is working to expand GP trainer numbers in addition to the number of trainees, and has made changes to the delivery of GP specialty training to better support trainees and to support trainers and educators, such as piloting blended learning and standardising entry and approval requirements.
Mar. 31 2008
Source Page: Guidelines for the appointment of general practitioners with special interests in the delivery of clinical services: headaches. 9 p.Found: Guidelines for the appointment of general practitioners with special interests in the delivery of clinical
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to expand the additional roles reimbursement scheme for primary care to include funding for (a) additional GPs and (b) associated reimbursement schemes for related roles.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is investing £82 million to fund the recruitment of over 1,000 newly qualified general practitioners (GPs), via the Additional Roles reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), so patients can get the care they need. The ARRS is subject to annual review as part of the consultation on the GP contract with professional and patient representatives. NHS England works closely with the Department to implement any changes identified as part of this process.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a maximum number of appointments each GP can undertake in one day.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We hugely value the critical role that general practitioners (GPs) play, and GPs are delivering more appointments than ever before. No evaluation has been conducted to determine the merits of introducing a maximum number of appointments each GP can undertake. GPs are independent businesses who are contracted by National Health Service commissioners to perform essential medical services. As a result, individual practices are responsible for the daily operations of their business outside of their contractual obligations, including determining the number of clinics and appointments offered to patients. This is because each practice is best placed to understand their own workforce and workloads.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of (1) the number of GPs seeking employment, and (2) the average length of time taken by a GP to find employment, in England; and what steps they are taking to ensure sufficient provision of GPs in England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England does not collect systematic data on the future intentions of any groups of doctors once they have completed specialty training. While many newly qualified general practitioners (GPs) will subsequently take roles in GPs, others will contribute to the National Health Service in different ways, or may choose to work elsewhere.
NHS England publishes analysis on the number of doctors who can be tracked from the GP training dataset to the data provided by GPs on their substantive workforce, and how long this takes. Further information, and the most recent data, is available on the NHS Digital website, in an online only format. Under the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, the number of GPs appointed to Specialty Training will rise to 6,000 per annum by 2031/2032.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 (a) recruit and (b) retain General Practitioners in North Cornwall.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has committed to training thousands more general practitioners (GPs) across the country, to take the pressure off those currently working in the system, and NHS England has made a number of recruitment and retention schemes available to GPs. In addition, the Government will bring back the family doctor, incentivising GPs to see the same patient, so that ongoing or complex conditions are dealt with effectively.
NHS England is working with practices in North Cornwall to create greater sustainability and offers a GP retainer scheme, which provides support to those returning to GP work. Practices are also supported with access to the primary care training hub which provides recruitment, development, and retention programmes, a general practice staff bank for Cornwall practices which helps provide short term locum support, and relocation funding that, following a successful application, can assist with recruiting for hard-to-fill roles.
In May 2024, the latest period for which data is available, there were 60.2 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors in GPs in the North Cornwall constituency, and an average of 5.8 FTE doctors in GPs per 10,000 registered patients.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help GP surgeries (a) improve energy efficiency and (b) reduce their carbon footprint.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Primary care will play an important role in helping the National Health Service achieve the net zero targets outlined in the report, Delivering a Net Zero NHS, published in July 2022, by decarbonising its estate, travel, and supply chain. Targeted efforts are needed to reduce emissions from medicines, which make up nearly two-thirds of primary care’s carbon footprint. There is range of support available to general practice (GP) surgeries to achieve this transition.
Supported by NHS England, the Royal College of General Practitioners is actively working to reduce the carbon footprint of GP surgeries through several initiatives like the Net Zero Hub, which provides guidance, eLearning, and tools for sustainability, and the Green Impact for Health Toolkit, which offers practical advice and awards for sustainable practices, among others. GP surgeries are also encouraged to use grants through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, for low-carbon heating solutions.
On efficiency and heat, all new buildings and major refurbishment projects, including primary care upgrades, will need to comply with NHS England’s Net Zero Building Standard, published in 2023.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support GP surgeries (a) improve energy efficiency and (b) reduce their carbon footprint.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Primary care will play an important role in helping the National Health Service achieve the net zero targets outlined in the report, Delivering a Net Zero NHS, published in July 2022, by decarbonising its estate, travel, and supply chain. Targeted efforts are needed to reduce emissions from medicines, which make up nearly two-thirds of primary care’s carbon footprint. There is range of support available to general practice (GP) surgeries to achieve this transition.
Supported by NHS England, the Royal College of General Practitioners is actively working to reduce the carbon footprint of GP surgeries through several initiatives like the Net Zero Hub, which provides guidance, eLearning, and tools for sustainability, and the Green Impact for Health Toolkit, which offers practical advice and awards for sustainable practices, among others. GP surgeries are also encouraged to use grants through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, for low-carbon heating solutions.
On efficiency and heat, all new buildings and major refurbishment projects, including primary care upgrades, will need to comply with NHS England’s Net Zero Building Standard, published in 2023.