Labor vows to train thousands more GPs in bid to end ‘8am phone work’

Labor has promised to train thousands more GPs, Wes Streeting said today, Tuesday 4 June. Speaking at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, the shadow health secretary told MyLondon: “Labour is committed to training thousands more GPs so we have the GPs people need to see on time.”

The difficulty people face trying to get a doctor’s appointment is a real problem for Londoners. In Lewisham, patients claimed they queued outside a GP surgery for over an hour trying to see a doctor in April.

Around 40 people are said to have lined up at Hilly Fields Medical Center in Ladywell, south-east London, from 7am on April 10 to secure an appointment. Residents said it was virtually impossible to book to see a doctor at the practice by phone or online and said receptionists advised them to try to queue outside before it opened at 8am.

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But half an hour after the surgery opened on Wednesday morning, a member of staff told them not to bother waiting because the surgery had sold out of emergency appointments. Mr Streeting acknowledged the challenges for patients, saying: “People often struggle to book, they are often stuck as part of the 8am scramble to get an appointment.”

He also claimed there are thousands fewer doctors practicing in the UK than in 2015. As a result of training more doctors, Mr Streeting said: “We will cut the red tape that holds GPs back and use the money we will use. save some of that to channel it into fostering GP relationships so people don’t have to see a different GP every time.”

“Physician assistants have a role to play, but they should not replace physicians”

Mr Streeting said Labor would continue to use medical associates (PAs), who have received two years of training and work under the supervision of doctors. PAs assist healthcare teams and may perform physical examinations and develop treatment plans.

However, the British Medical Association has expressed concern about the blurring of lines between PAs and GPs, as the former do not have the same level of training or experience as the latter, potentially putting patient safety at risk. Mr Streeting said: “Doctors’ associates have a role to play in the NHS.

“These are great people who can add value to the NHS. Where I think the concern has arisen is when physician associates are used to stand in for physicians and practice beyond the scope of their license.

“I take these concerns of doctors seriously. Most importantly, it is in the interest of patient safety, but also in the interest of associate physicians, that they are not required to work outside their scope of practice, and that is something we will do. seek to address”.

“Deeply unfair status quo”

Labor will also use private healthcare as a way to reduce NHS waiting lists more quickly, Mr Streeting said. The current private healthcare system, where people who can afford it can be seen more quickly, is a “deeply unfair status quo”, Mr Streeting said.

“Where there is spare capacity in the private sector, we will use that spare capacity to reduce the NHS waiting list faster, giving it to the patient on NHS terms so they never have to worry about the bill.” Labor has promised to reduce the NHS waiting list, which the party claims is almost 8 million.

“Reduce our over-reliance on overseas staff”

The NHS is also severely understaffed and Labor has pledged to tackle this with the “biggest expansion of NHS staff in history”. Mr Streeting said: “We are in this perverse situation where we are turning away thousands of A-level medical students every year, even though we have a shortage of doctors.”

Mr Streeting said he wanted to “cultivate that home-grown talent and at the same time reduce our over-reliance on overseas staff”. He said there is a future where the UK cannot assume that global staff will always be available and it is a “business risk” for the UK in the long term.

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