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 help patients see their preferred doctor at GP surgeries.

The Government recognises the importance of the relationship between patients and their general practitioners (GPs). However, in some cases patients may prefer to see another professional from the wider general practice workforce instead of a specific GP.

All patients must be assigned a named GP, and practices must endeavour to comply with all reasonable requests of patients to see a particular GP or other healthcare professional for an appointment. The 2023/24 GP Contract promotes the use of the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Continuity of Care toolkit via the Quality and Outcomes Framework Quality Improvement module.

We are building a diverse workforce of professionals in general practice teams who play an important role in providing and enabling continuity of care for patients.