Therese Coffey has admitted a new Government pledge for patients to be seen by a GP within two weeks could just mean them receiving a phone call.
The Health Secretary is today unveiling a “Plan for Patients” which will include GPs being told to give every patient who wants one an appointment within two weeks, with same-day slots for the most urgent cases.
But Ms Coffey conceded this morning that the policy will not just mean in-person consultations and will also include telephone and video consultations.
She told LBC Radio that the Government wants GPs “to see patients” and when pressed on what that actually means, she said: “Well, I think that is open to the relationship between the GP and the patient. I know that throughout the pandemic there has been a variety of ways that people have interacted with seeing their GP.”
Asked if it could include a phone call, Ms Coffey said: “I am not going to be overly prescriptive. I know that some people enjoy just having a phone call but may need to go in and see the doctor. I know that other patients are very keen in that regard.”
Follow the latest updates below.
08:47 AM
Naming and shaming could see patients ditching GPs
Therese Coffey’s new “Plan for Patients” will also name and shame the GP practices with the longest waits for appointments, in a bid to drive up performance.
The Health Secretary suggested the data which will be published by the Government could prompt patients to ditch their current GP and move to a different one.
Asked whether GPs who underperformed would face sanctions, Ms Coffey told LBC Radio: “Dare I say it… one of the points about also opening up and publishing data by practice is it may give some patients the opportunity to choose to use a different GP and to make that change as well.”
08:44 AM
‘Certainly we want more GPs’
GPs have criticised Therese Coffey’s appointments announcement, arguing that just because the Government is setting a new two-week target, that will not address the key issues of a lack of resources and high demand.
Ms Coffey told Times Radio that the Government does want to see more GPs recruited and that is part of a “longer-term plan that has already been set out”.
She said: “Certainly we want more GPs, more clinicians, that’s all part of our longer-term plan that has already been set out.
“What I’m doing at the moment is really getting focus on ABCD – the ambulances, the backlogs, the care, the doctors and dentists – but I’m very conscious that nearly everybody who accesses the NHS does that through primary care, through their GP, and that’s why I’m putting so much emphasis in what I’m going to do to try and help patients get what they expect from GPs and to help GPs deliver that as well.”
08:40 AM
GP appointment pledge ‘includes phone calls’
Therese Coffey is today unveiling the following new pledge: GPs in England will need to offer non-urgent appointments to patients within two weeks and urgent slots the same day.
You can read the full story on the “Plan for Patients” here.
However, when the Health Secretary talks about the Government wanting GPs to “see” their patients within two weeks that does not necessarily mean in-person appointments.
The Deputy Prime Minister conceded this morning that the two-week pledge will also include telephone and video consultations.
Asked what she meant by being seen by a GP, Ms Coffey told LBC Radio: “Well, I think that is open to the relationship between the GP and the patient. I know that throughout the pandemic there has been a variety of ways that people have interacted with seeing their GP.”
Asked if it could specifically include a phone call, she said: “I am not going to be overly prescriptive. I know that some people enjoy just having a phone call but may need to go in and see the doctor. I know that other patients are very keen in that regard.”
08:35 AM
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to today’s politics live blog.
There is a busy day ahead in Westminster, with Liz Truss arriving back from her trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The Prime Minister is expected to open a debate in the House of Commons this afternoon on the situation in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Therese Coffey, the Health Secretary, is unveiling the Government’s plan to improve the NHS as Westminster also prepares for the mini-Budget tomorrow.
I will be on hand to guide you through the key developments.
