Contributions
2,308 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareMy hon. Friend is absolutely right on this and we plan to have a communications campaign. The front door to the NHS can often be confusing for people—whether they should go to…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareWith permission, I would like to make a statement on the primary care recovery plan. For most of us, general practice is our front door to the NHS. In the last six months, over…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareAs I said, there are more pharmacists than in 2010 and more people working in the pharmacy sector—the numbers have gone up by 24,000 since 2010—so to address the hon. Lady’s…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareThere seems to be a slightly confused response from the Opposition. They challenge this announcement on the grounds that they are not happy with it, and in the same breath claim…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareFar from ducking Whipps Cross, I have actually been and visited in person, so I am very familiar with the issue and I recognise the importance of the new hospital programme. I…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareI welcome my hon. Friend’s comments. There is £645 million of funding over the next two years to support the expansion of this work through Pharmacy First. As I said a moment ago,…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareMy hon. Friend has a great deal of experience, and he is right to focus on the amount of clinical time often spent on non-clinical issues. Sending reminders through the NHS app…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareAs I said in my statement, we have 4,000 doctors training in primary care, compared with 2,600 in 2014. We are also looking at how we can better retain the GPs we have. That is…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareI know the right hon. Lady well, having served with her for four years on the Public Accounts Committee, so I hope that she will not mind me being slightly surprised about being…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareThe short answer is this year, but the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee is right to focus, as with all recovery plans, on deliverability. I hope he will take comfort…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareI have recognised throughout that demand has increased. Primary care is treating 10% more patients than before the pandemic, with around 1 million appointments a day. There is…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareFirst, I join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to the work that GPs do in his constituency, as they do elsewhere. On pharmacies, part of the reason for the investment is to…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareFirst, I thank the hon. Member for recognising, constructively, that this is a step in the right direction. As the quotes from the sector show, many working within pharmacy…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareMy hon. Friend raises a great point. I am extremely keen on how we can improve diagnostic testing and make it more accessible. As she knows from her time in the Department, early…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareIn respect of my hon. Friend’s first point, these plans will not make any changes. As for the second, about prescribing, that will be part of the consultation, and we will be…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareMy hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the practice in other countries, and the fact that patients are very happy to visit pharmacists when that is more appropriate for the…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareThere is funding in other parts of the Department’s budget, not least for tech innovation and the work we are doing on artificial intelligence. There is further scope to use AI in…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareI am happy to recognise the scope for Mrs Bristow and many others to make more use of the NHS app. That app is all about empowering the patient and enabling them to get the right…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareMy hon. Friend is right about the opportunity that tech offers to deliver changes at scale and the fact that this is proven technology that is working and already up and running…09 May 2023HANSARD Recovering Access to Primary CareAs I have said several times, we will publish a workforce plan shortly. We are committed to that and the Chancellor set that out in the autumn statement. Of course, when he was…09 May 2023