Baroness Manzoor
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GP Contract
Baroness Manzoor Excerpts(1 day, 11 hours ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
The right reverend Prelate is right to raise this. We have been very concerned for some time about the inequalities in coastal areas and areas of greatest need, where healthy life expectancy is the lowest. That includes communities with higher deprivation levels. That is why we began our reforms last year with an independent review of the outdated Carr-Hill formula. That is about the distribution of GP funding, which is fundamental to the point the right reverend Prelate makes. It is based on data that is around 25 years old in some cases, and clearly our population has changed. I look forward to updating the House when that review is concluded.
Baroness Manzoor (Con)
I welcome some of the criteria that are going to be used, particularly for deprived communities, in relation to access, but there remains a postcode lottery in terms of access to GPs, particularly in deprived communities. My concern is that, with some of the algorithms and IT being used as a postbox, patients are being referred directly to A&E departments. Will the Government assess in A&E departments which people are being referred that way so, that we can ensure that that loophole is addressed?
Baroness Merron (Lab)
It is important to say that online access does not sit alone. There is also in-person access, including telephone access if people prefer that. The intention is not—and it is not the practice—that they are just postboxes. They are dealt with. We constantly keep those approaches under review. Our expansion is about access to GPs. That includes, for example, in answer to some of the points that have been raised today, including by the noble Baroness, repurposing £292 million from primary care network incentive scheme moneys to fund additional GP sessions to create more capacity, because that is necessary whatever way people make contact. That was based on feedback from the BMA, which said this would be a more effective use of funding.