Pause the rollout of Neighbourhood Health reforms. Hold a full public consultation, publish detailed implementation plans, commit to protecting GP surgeries, and formally commit to and guarantee that no contracts will be handed to private companies or overstretched hospital trusts.
We are concerned that the reforms could:
Lead to closing or merging local GP surgeries
End continuity of care with family doctors
Force patients to travel further for appointments
Bankrupt GP practices and force them shut as warned by the BMA
Hand contracts to struggling hospital trusts or private firms
Risk longer waits, poorer access and loss of trusted local care for patients
We call for an immediate pause, a full public consultation, protection for GP surgeries, and for the Government to formally guarantee that contracts will not be handed to private companies.