13.05.14
Miliband pledges GP appointments within 48 hours
Under a Labour government patients in England would be ‘guaranteed’ a GP appointment within 48 hours and those who need it would get one within 24 hours.
This was according to party leader Ed Miliband who, in a speech yesterday evening, also promised that an extra £100m – generated from savings made elsewhere in the NHS by getting rid of high-levels of spending on bureaucracy and competition – would be invested into GP services.
He added that the extra funding would allow an extra three million appointments a year, relieving pressure on A&E units and preventing “unnecessary” hospital admissions.
In his Manchester speech, Miliband attacked the current waiting times for GP appointments as “a scandal”. He also accused David Cameron of breaking his “bond of trust” with the British people to defend the NHS.
However, a Conservative Party spokesman said: “This is an unfunded, pie-in-the-sky policy that Labour can't pay for and doctors can't deliver.”
But the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the NHS Confederation, for the most part, are in support of the Labour leader’s proposals.
Dr Peter Carter , chief executive and general secretary of the RCN, said: “Improved access to a GP is one of the most important issues to patients and they would be pleased to see a greater investment in GP services, which is much needed.”
But in order to provide this level of access to practice services, Carter stated that this would require a substantial investment, not only in GPs but in the entire practice team.
The NHS Confederation added that Labour is right to focus on the role primary care can play in an improve health service. It also stated that with unprecedented pressure on the NHS and no ‘magic porridge pot’ of funding available, it is vital that any proposals to widen care or access are grounded in evidence that they improve patient outcomes and experience at least as well as alternative proposals. Labour’s proposals are no exception.
Rob Webster, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “Our 2015 Challenge calls for better use of the wider primary care team in conjunction with all parts of the health and care system to better meet the needs of the 21st century patient. GPs have a key role to play in that but tinkering with one part of the system in isolation is not a solution.”
However, a government spokesperson stated: “More unfunded spending would mean more borrowing and more taxes to pay for it. It's the same old Labour. The last Labour government vandalised the relationship between GPs and their patients by introducing tick-box targets and scrapping family doctors, something we are now putting right.
“Far from improving access, another top-down target will leave GPs less time with their patients and put more pressure on general practice. The real solution is less micromanagement and more GPs, something we've already committed to.”
Tell us what you think – have your say below or email [email protected]