Seeing a GP should be easy, but for lots of people locally it hasn’t felt that way since the pandemic.
Thankfully plans announced today by the Government are set to change that. Our Primary Care Recovery Plan will mean quicker and more convenient care for patients - including freeing up 15 million GP appointments and ending the ‘8am rush’ for appointments.
Since the pandemic GPs have faced a surge in demand, and they're now doing 10% more appointments every month compared to 2019. We want to free up their time by making some clever changes to the way we do things, alongside training more doctors.
These include allowing community pharmacists to prescribe certain medicines, cutting unnecessary bureaucracy so GPs can spend more time focusing on patients, and £240 million invested in state-of-the-art digital systems which end the 8am scramble for appointments.
It also means boosting capacity, with 26,000 more primary care professionals (GPs, practice nurses and pharmacists) and 50 million more appointments by March 2024.
The announcement comes hand in hand with a number of encouraging steps for GP access locally, including in Faversham, where Newton Place surgery is making great use of their recent expansion to see more patients, and Faversham Medical Practice has a new phone system making it easier to book appointments.
All these changes will mean more appointments, less hassle, and an end to the dreaded 8am scramble for appointments - making life easier for patients.
