Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve access to GPs.

We are expanding capacity in general practices (GPs) which will help deliver more appointments to patients.

Since October 2024, we have funded primary care networks (PCNs) with an additional £160 million to recruit GPs through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. Additionally, the new Practice Level GP Reimbursement Scheme, backed by £292 million of ringfenced funding, will help practices hire additional GPs or fund additional sessions with existing GPs to strengthen capacity, access, and improve patient satisfaction, whilst also addressing GP unemployment and underemployment.

We now have the highest number of GPs since 2015. As of July 2024, there were 27,735 fully qualified full-time equivalent GPs, now there are 30,369, which is an extra 2,600 GPs. We delivered 15.8 million more appointments over the past year than in the previous year and we have asked practices to ensure that they see those who need a clinically urgent appointment on the same day.

As a result, patient experience is also improving. Nearly 77% of patients reporting ease of contact, up 16% since July 2024, and overall satisfaction is also improving.