Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the difference in patient care outcomes between (a) assigning a named GP for accountability and (b) ensuring continuity of care through an own doctor system for patients with long-term conditions.

The Government is bringing back the family general practitioner (GP) because we know that continuity of care is essential to person-centred healthcare. While all patients have the legal right to choose their GP practice and must be assigned a named GP, the current system does not guarantee that they will see the same doctor at each visit. Although practices must make reasonable efforts to accommodate patient preferences, there is currently no formal assessment of the impact of assigning a named GP on outcomes.

That is why we are going further, by improving continuity of care, we aim to make it easier for patients to see the same doctor at each appointment, which is key to managing and supporting patients with long-term conditions.