Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of a link between access to GPs and attendances at accident and emergency departments.

The Urgent and Emergency Care Review identified a number of factors that impact on accident and emergency (A&E) attendances which can include local access to general practitioners (GPs).

We are expanding access to GPs in the evenings and at the weekend. Through the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund, 18 million people will benefit from improved access, including at evenings and weekends by March 2016.

According to the latest GP Patient Survey results, published on 2 July 2015, 85.2% of patients were able to get an appointment with a GP or nurse at their surgery. 91.8% of those were able to get an appointment convenient to them. Of the 10.9% who reported that they could not get an appointment and the 8.2% who could not get an appointment that was convenient, 9.9% went to A&E or a walk-in centre.