On Monday 12 May, Ed Miliband announced that the next Labour Government will bring in new guarantees to help make sure that you can get to see a GP at a time that’s convenient for you. Labour will give all NHS patients the right to consult a doctor or nurse at their local GP surgery on the same day; get an appointment at the surgery on the same day if they need to be seen quickly; have a guaranteed appointment at the surgery within 48 hours; and book an appointment more than 48 hours ahead with the GP of their choice.
We’ll help all surgeries achieve this by investing an extra £100 million in family doctor practices, paid for by scrapping the Government’s competition rules in the NHS and parts of the increased bureaucracy that they’ve created.
Easier GP access will improve care for patients and help ease the pressure at Leicester’s A&E departments. Making sure people can get the treatment they need in the community, rather than having to go into hospital unnecessarily, will ensure better value for taxpayers’ money, too.
Week in, week out, my constituents tell me that it’s getting harder for them to see their GP. That’s why I’ll work hard to help Labour introduce this new package of measures if we’re elected in 2015.