Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the target time for a patient to obtain a GP appointment.

The Government is determined to work with the National Health Service to fix the front door of our health service and ensure that everyone can access general practice (GP) appointments and services, including in Eastbourne. Through our 10-Year Health Plan, it will be easier and faster to see a GP. The 8:00am scramble will end, we will train more doctors, and we will guarantee digital consultations within 24 hours.

The GP Contract requires practices to offer patients an assessment of need, or to signpost them to an appropriate service, on the day they contact the practice, so that patients are not asked to call back another day. An appointment may not always be clinically necessary but where this is appropriate, we expect practices to offer one within two weeks, with urgent needs seen on the same day.