South West Bedfordshire MP, Andrew Selous, was offered a meeting with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care today at Prime Minister’s questions on the issue of trying to urgently get GPs and practice nurses more space to see patients.
Speaking afterwards, Andrew said,
“I had a long conversation with some of our senior local GPs who I greatly respect last Friday and urgently getting more consulting room space was their top priority. I have been frustrated in previous months that space which the GPs would have been happy to see patients in was not deemed to be acceptable by the Care Quality Commission. This is bizarre because there are existing GP premises which do not meet the current specifications which are currently in use.
I also discussed what we can do to make sure that GP trainees give some time to the NHS once they have finished their training as training them takes up a lot of experienced GP time.
My constituents continue to tell me that being able to get in to see a GP or practice nurse easily is one of the very top priorities, which is why I will keep fighting for them on this issue.
The exchange in Hansard was as follows,
GP surgeries promised in planning applications take far too long to be built. Can we clear away the obstacles and make it easier for our amazing family doctors to use additional consulting rooms that they are happy with elsewhere in the community, so that GPs, and the many extra prescribing nurses they are now employing, can see more patients now while they wait for bespoke premises to be built?
I thank my hon. Friend, who speaks from a point of authority. He knows that we have high standards to ensure that GPs provide services from premises that meet all the required criteria, but I understand it is possible for those services to be provided at alternative locations that meet the contract requirements. I will happily ensure that the Health and Social Care Secretary looks into his suggestions about more flexibility. He will also welcome our recent plans to expand the range of services available at pharmacies, saving many people time and hassle to get treatment for seven common ailments at their local pharmacist, easing the pressure on our GPs and speeding up the care that people deserve.