Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alex Baker and Wes Streeting

Tuesday 25th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

4. What steps his Department is taking to improve patient access to GPs.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

I am pleased to report that both access to general practice and patient satisfaction with general practice have improved since Labour came to office. Over 75% of patients find it easy to contact their practice —an improvement of 14 percentage points since the general election. Not only have we recruited an extra 2,500 GPs; crucially, more patients are receiving continuity of care, backed by an additional £1.1 billion. Lots done, lots to do, and certainly a long way to go, but general practice is on the road to recovery.

[Alex Baker]

I am proud to see this Government’s improvements to GP services making a real difference locally, with over 2,000 more GPs hired and new investment already reaching practices like Jenner House surgery in Farnborough. However, many of my older and more vulnerable constituents tell me they are still struggling to get through on GP phone lines, especially as more practices move online. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that phone lines remain accessible for those who rely on them, so that everyone benefits from our NHS health plan? [Interruption.]

[Wes Streeting]

Well, Mr Speaker, you couldn’t script this! We have a doctor in the House—my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley)—whose phone was alive as this very issue was raised by my hon. Friend, such is the commitment of doctors in our NHS to be available to patients wherever and whenever they are needed.

This Labour Government were elected on a pledge to end the 8 am scramble, and that is exactly what we are doing. We know that not everyone wants to contact their practice online. That is why practices must offer patients the option to telephone or visit in person in addition to online access. I thank GPs up and down the country for the work they are doing and the progress we are making in improving online access, access generally and patient satisfaction—lots done, lots to do.

NHS 10-Year Plan

Debate between Alex Baker and Wes Streeting

Thursday 3rd July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I am so grateful to my hon. Friend for that question, and for the expertise she brings to the House on this issue. She is absolutely right: it is the NHS’s responsibility to meet the needs of everyone, whatever their background and whatever the circumstances of their requirement for access to the NHS. That is so often where eyes first spot the telltale signs of violence against women and girls and domestic abuse. It is not the job of the Home Office to tackle this issue; it is the job of all of us across Government. She has my assurance that I will work closely with my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to make sure that the NHS plays its part in keeping women and girls safe, alive and well.

[Alex Baker (Aldershot) (Lab)]

I warmly welcome the Government’s 10-year plan. It is a proud day to sit on these Benches. I also welcome the Government’s commitment to rebuilding Frimley Park hospital in my community in wave 1 of the new hospitals programme. The brilliant staff there, who are currently working in a hospital riddled with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, deserve that more than anyone. Can the Secretary of State help me out by bringing to life what healthcare will look like for people in my community of Aldershot, Farnborough, Blackwater, Hawley and Yateley over the next decade as a result of this plan?

[Wes Streeting]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question, and to her constituents for taking part in her local engagement event. This plan will ensure that more people receive the right care in the right place at the right time. It will deliver more neighbourhood health services under one roof, and more choice, convenience, power and control over healthcare. It will deliver access and support at the touch of a button, and personalised care. We are completely changing how we deliver healthcare in this century and meeting the needs of everyone. Thinking particularly about her constituency, we are making sure that we are supporting our armed forces, veterans and their families, so that they receive great outcomes, thanks to a great Labour MP in Aldershot and a Labour Government who deliver. I know that she will hold our feet to the fire to make sure that we deliver.