Seeing a GP should be easy, but for lots of people locally it hasn’t felt that way since the pandemic - and the same goes for seeing an NHS dentist.
That’s why I’m teaming up with our local GPs, dentists and pharmacies to help increase the number of appointments locally, backed up by exciting government reforms.
GPs are working harder than ever at the moment - delivering 10% more appointments than before the pandemic - and if we want to increase capacity further, we've got to change the way we do things.
That's why earlier this year we launched the Primary Care Recovery Plan. It's modernising the way we do primary care, with new tech, less bureaucracy, and a bigger role for community pharmacists - including allowing them for the first time ever to prescribe some medicines.
It's going to be followed soon by the Dental Recovery Plan, setting out similar steps to make sure people can access the dental care they need in future.
As these are rolled out I'm going to be meeting pharmacists, our local NHS, and GPs themselves to discuss how these changes are going, what I can do to help, and where local people have concerns. Click on the links below to find out what I've been up to.
And finally, if you've been struggling to see your local GP, or have an issue with an NHS dentist - please do let me know. While I might not be able to solve it overnight, the data on where the issues are is going to be a huge help as we work on this.
