Over 1,500 GPs employed as authorities seeks to finish 8am appointment scramble
The Department of Health and Social Care said that since October 1 some 1,503 GPs have been recruited after cutting red-tape preventing practices hiring newly qualified GPs
Over 1,500 GPs have been hired over six months as the government seeks to end the 8am scramble for an appointment.
The government said the figures show a major recruitment drive to help fix the “front door” of the broken NHS. The Department of Health and Social Care said that since October 1 some 1,503 GPs have been recruited after years of “neglect”.
Writing for The Mirror, the Health Minister Stephen Kinnock credited the boost to slashing “unnecessary red tape preventing practices from hiring newly qualified GPs and by providing an extra £82 million in funding”.
He said: “Turning around our broken NHS is not an easy task but we are not shying away from the challenge and we are determined to improve things for patients. We’ve rolled up our sleeves, and we’re cutting through the bureaucracy. By delivering on our ambitions, including providing 1,500 more GPs, we will make it easier for every patient to hear those words – ‘the doctor will see you now’.”
Labour’s election manifesto promised to train thousands more GPs while also guaranteeing face-to-face appointments “for all those who want one and deliver a modern appointment booking system to end the 8am scramble”.
Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, added: “Rebuilding our broken NHS starts with fixing the front door. We inherited a ludicrous situation where patients couldn’t get a GP appointment, while GPs couldn’t get a job. By cutting red tape and investing more in our NHS, we have put an extra 1,503 GPs into general practice to deliver more appointments.”
Dr Amanda Doyle, National Director for Primary Care and Community Services, added: “I would like to thank the general practice teams that have employed significantly more than the 1,000 extra GPs promised to provide care for patients.”
She said: “Improving access to general practice is an NHS priority and GP teams are delivering 29 million appointments every month – up a fifth since before the pandemic. But we have more to do to make it easier for patients to see their local GP, so practice teams should continue to use this funding to best effect by recruiting more GPs, so more patients can be seen more quickly.”
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