Some aspects of the announcement were updated overnight and Coffey will set out “her expectation that everyone who needs an appointment at a GP surgery within two weeks”. Older readers may remember that around 20 years ago the Labor government aimed for everyone to be able to see a doctor within two days, not two weeks – even though it led to doctors refusing to book appointments more than two days in advance, and it was later abolished by the Tories. My colleague Denis Campbell has a preview of the announcement here. So far, physician leaders have been unimpressed — mostly because they say Coffey isn’t addressing the main problem, which is understaffing for the workloads they face. Professor Martin Marshall, president of the Royal College of GPs, said: Cutting down a struggling service with more expectations, without a plan for how to deliver them, will only serve to add to the intense workload and workforce pressures our doctors and teams face, while also having little impact on care that patients receive. And Dr Farah Jameel, chair of the British Medical Association’s GP committee for England, said in a statement: The aim of GPs now offering appointments within two weeks is just another addition to a culture that highlights a government approach when it comes to those providing the service on the ground. GPs must be freed up to provide the care we know patients so desperately need – this means we need a genuine strategy to tackle the workforce crisis. There simply aren’t enough doctors and staff to provide the care our patients need and deserve. Today’s GP workforce figures show that between August 2021 and August 2022 we lost the equivalent of 314 full-time GPs. We now have 1,850 fewer fully qualified full-time GPs than in 2015, with 16% more patients per GP. We are losing more GPs than we can recruit and this coupled with cost of living pressures is starting to spell the end of GPs as we know them… If the new health minister had met with us before this announcement, we could have proposed a workable strategy to deal with the unfolding crisis ahead of us for this winter and beyond – instead, we actually have small changes that will not make no tangible difference to patients struggling to access Care. Coffey is doing interviews this morning. I will summarize what he said shortly. Here is the agenda for the day. 9am: The Institute for Fiscal Studies holds a briefing on what is expected in Kwasi Kwarteng’s “emergency budget” tomorrow. 9.30am: Census data for Northern Ireland is released, including data on religious affiliation. After 10am: Thérèse Coffey, the new health secretary, makes a statement to MPs about plans to improve patient access to the NHS. 11.30am: Downing Street briefs lobby. 12pm: The Bank of England announces its decision to change interest rates. 2.15pm: The CBI, the Resolution Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation give evidence to the Commons Treasury committee on the cost of living. I’m trying to follow the comments below the line (BTL) but it’s impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, include “Andrew” somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I try to answer questions and if they’re of general interest I’ll post the question and answer above the line (ATL), though I can’t promise I’ll do it for everyone. If you want to get my attention quickly, it’s probably best to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow. Alternatively you can email me at [email protected]
