PROPOSALS to bring back family doctors to end the early-morning scramble for appointments has been hailed as a healthcare ‘landmark’ by a Barnsley MP.
A deal has been struck with Britain’s biggest doctors’ union - the British Medical Association - to ‘fix the front door of the NHS’ which has left patients in the town struggling to secure an appointment with their GP.
The deal for family doctors is backed by the biggest funding boost for general practice in years, reversing the decade-long cuts to general practice funding as a share of the NHS budget.
It is also the first agreement with the BMA on the GP contract for four years, representing a reset of relations after recent collective action under the Conservatives that has blighted the health service.
It will free up doctors from red tape and box-ticking targets to concentrate on treating patients, the government said.
Marie Tidball, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, welcomed the ‘landmark’ announcement.
“The news also follows the Labour government confirming it has delivered the extra two million NHS appointments promised as part of its ‘Plan For Change’ seven months early,” she told the Chronicle.
“The newly-agreed contract will modernise general practice by requiring GP surgeries to allow patients to request appointments online throughout working hours from October, freeing up the phones for those who need them most, and making it easier for practices to triage patients based on medical need.
“I am delighted that the Labour government delivered on their promises and struck a new deal with GPs which will allow them to spend less time form-filling and more time delivering appointments for local residents.
“Fixing the front door of the NHS and bringing back the family doctor a priority that came up on the doorstep in our communities again and again, and I’m grateful to the government for taking action on this priority so soon after the election.
“This landmark announcement is a major step forward towards achieving this ambition.”
NHS Digital figures show 119 full-time equivalent, fully-trained GPs were working at surgeries in the borough in November - in line with the year before.
However, the NHS has lost more than 400 individual GP partners and 244 salaried, locum and retainer GPs in the last 12 months, according to the BMA.
This has created a net loss of 646 individual GPs since January 2022, leading to a knock-on impact on waiting times at Barnsley Hospital’s A and E as patients seek help elsewhere due to a lack of appointments at GPs.
Wes Streeting MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, added: “Rebuilding the broken NHS starts with GPs - patients need to be able to easily book an appointment, in the manner they want, with their regular doctor if they choose.
“We have taken the first step to fixing the front door to the NHS, bringing back the family doctor, and ending the 8am scramble.
“Over the past decade, funding for GPs has been cut relative to the rest of the NHS, while the number of targets for GPs has soared - that’s why patients are struggling to get an appointment.
“This government is cutting the red tape that ties up GPs time and backing them with an extra £889m next year.
“In return, more patients will be able to request appointments online and see their regular doctor for each appointment.”
