Health and Social Care Secretary declared he will bring back the family doctor on a
visit to a London GP surgery today (Monday).
The Secretary of State was joined by NHS Chief Executive Amanda
Pritchard on a tour of the Abbey Medical Centre in St John's
Wood, London, where the pair met with and listened to staff.
He also committed to increasing the proportion of NHS resources
going to primary care to ensure patients can get through the
front door of the NHS and access the care they need.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care said:
“Patients are finding it harder than ever to see a GP. Patients
can't get through the front door of the NHS, so they aren't
getting the timely care they need.
“That's no surprise, when GPs and primary care has been receiving
a smaller proportion of NHS resources. I'm committed to reversing
that.
“My first visit as Health Secretary was to a GP practice because
when we said we want to shift the focus of the NHS out of
hospitals and into the community, we meant it. I'm determined to
make the NHS more of a neighbourhood health service, with more
care available closer to people's homes.
"Because if patients can't get a GP appointment, then they end up
in A&E, which is worse for them, and more expensive for the
taxpayer.
“We are committed to bringing back the family doctor, so patients
can see the same doctor each appointment, fixing the front door
to the NHS.”
NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard
said:
“It was excellent to join the Secretary of State visiting Abbey
Medical Centre this afternoon – it was powerful to hear directly
from patients about the importance of GP and primary care
services.
“Staff here also told us about the struggles they face with
waiting lists but also how they are responding to emerging new
health and care needs in their local community.
“GP teams are the bedrock of the NHS but right across the
country, they are under huge pressure and working incredibly hard
to deliver more appointments. We know there is much more work to
do to support them and to transform primary care services. We
look forward to working with the government and colleagues in
primary care to do that.”
The Abbey Medical Centre is a sector leader in providing patients
with a personal service and emphasising continuity of care – both
key pillars of the government's mission to reform NHS primary
care.
The centre is also a teaching and research practice that trains
medical students and specialist trainees in general practice –
complimenting the government's aims to train thousands more GPs.
The Secretary of State has previously spoken about his plans to
increase investment in primary care, including trialling
Neighbourhood Health Centres, which will bring together existing
community services under one roof.
