GPs and pharmacies are the very heart of our communities. Here’s how we’ll transform them
PEOPLE sometimes talk about their GP as if they were a close friend or even a member of the family.
When I was growing up, that was the reality.
My dad was a GP and Mum ran the local pharmacy.
They were at the heart of our community, the friendly face of the NHS and the first port of call for anyone worried about their health.
That’s still the case today.
Our GPs are doing a brilliant job and they are seeing more patients than ever before.
But as we recover from the pandemic, services have come under real strain and people are struggling to book appointments.
Sun readers know how frustrating it is to be stuck on hold to your GP practice when you or someone in the family desperately needs to see a doctor, or even if they just need a routine appointment.
It’s a common scene in homes up and down the country at 7.59am every morning as people get ready to dial their GP, hoping to beat the queue.
And when access to primary care is difficult it has knock-on effects across the NHS, with many who cannot get GP appointments left with no option but to turn to A&E.
You deserve better than that.
Our NHS deserves better than that.
So we are going to change things under a new plan I’m setting out today.
Backed by £1.2billion of government investment, we are going to transform GP and pharmacy services in England, delivering on my promise to cut NHS waiting lists.
Under this plan, millions of patients will receive quicker, more convenient access to NHS care from their high street pharmacy, leaving GPs free to help the patients who need them most.
No longer will you have to wait to see the GP for common conditions like a sore throat, ear ache, shingles or sinusitis.
For the first time ever, pharmacists will be able to prescribe medicines themselves.
We have 11,500 community pharmacies, run by pharmacists who are skilled, qualified healthcare professionals.
So it makes perfect sense to give them a greater role in helping people with these kinds of routine conditions.
It is a simple change, but I know it will make a huge difference.
By providing a further 2.5million blood-pressure checks in community pharmacies, tens of thousands more people will be at lower risk of a heart attack or stroke.
This could be a potential life-saver by helping to tackle the rising problem of cardiovascular disease.
By enabling more pharmacies to prescribe oral contraception, we will make life easier for around half a million women who will no longer need to wait to speak to their GP or a practice nurse.
That means no more jumping through hoops each time you run out of pills.
And by giving people the ability to self-refer for services like physiotherapy, hearing tests, and podiatry, we will help around half a million people a year to get the support they need more quickly.
These are sensible, practical steps, which will make a real difference to people’s everyday lives — and help ease the burden and make the NHS more efficient.
Together, these measures will free up around 15million GP appointments over the next two years.
And it doesn’t stop there.
We are also providing GPs with the practical help they need to manage high demand.
It’s time to say goodbye to old-fashioned analogue phone systems that keep you waiting for hours on end.
They will be replaced by new user-friendly online services to book appointments, get health questions answered and access records.
We will put an end to the 8am rush to book a GP appointment, and people will no longer be asked to call back another day.
Instead, if your need is urgent, you will be assessed the same day and get an appointment that day if you need one.
If your need isn’t urgent, you will get an appointment within two weeks.
All of this is on top of our work to train up thousands more doctors, nurses and pharmacists, and our decision to increase funding for general practice to a record £11.5billion.
This plan will not just help GPs and pharmacies to deliver better care, it will also have a ripple effect across the NHS.
This plan is comprehensive and will help to deliver one of my five priorities to cut waiting lists so people can get the help they need more quickly.
That’s what I, this government, the Conservatives will continue to do for you.
We are getting on with the job at hand to deliver on your priorities.
I know many Sun readers will be marking the 75th anniversary of the NHS later this year.
It will be a huge celebration, an outpouring of affection for this institution that says so much about who we are as a country.
But it must also be a moment to pledge our determination together to keep improving, keep modernising and keep looking for ways to serve patients even better.
That’s what the plan I am announcing today is all about.