PATIENTS across Barnsley will be able to spend more time with their GPs under the government’s proposed reforms to general practice, much to the delight of a local MP.
The new reforms will bring back the ‘family doctor’ and slash red tape.
MP John Healey has welcomed the plans to bring back the family doctor and end the 8am scramble for appointments.
Under the proposals, patients, including those with complex needs, long-term conditions, or the elderly, would experience greater continuity of care.
The proposals fall under the new GP contract for 2025/26, which is now out for consultation with the British Medical Association’s General Practice Committee to provide its feedback.
The proposals are backed by the biggest boost to GP funding in years - an extra £889m on top of the existing budget for general practice.
The measures would also reduce the number of outdated performance targets that GPs must meet, in a further step to reduce bureaucracy and ensure doctors can spend more time with their patients.
John said: “When I speak with people locally, I hear time and time again about the difficulty they have in making a GP appointment and how important having that first point of contact with our NHS is to them and their families.
“I promised people across my constituency that we would help bring back the family doctor and I’m delighted to see proposals that would deliver on that promise.”
Wes Streeting, health and social care secretary, added that the government’s plans would bring an extra 1,000 GPs into the NHS.
He added: “General practice is buckling under the burden of bureaucracy, with GPs filling out forms instead of treating patients. It is clear the system is broken, which is why we are slashing red tape, binning outdated performance targets, and instead freeing doctors up to do their jobs.
“We promised to bring back the family doctor, but we want to be judged by results - not promises.
“That’s why we will incentivise GPs to ensure more and more patients see the same doctor at each appointment.
“Through our Plan for Change, we are acting to fix the front door to the NHS and we have already started hiring an extra 1,000 GPs into the NHS.
“We are proposing substantial additional investment and greater flexibility to employ doctors so patients get better care.
“I call on GPs to now work with us to get the NHS back on its feet and end their collective action.”
