JEN Craft, Labour MP for Thurrock, has welcomed today’s announcement that it will become easier to get a same day GP appointment for urgent care.
Under the new GP contract, announced this afternoon [Feb 24], GPs will be required to give at least 90% of urgent care patients a same day appointment.
This will be made possible via an additional £485m investment, alongside measures to ringfence £300m of existing funding to increase capacity in GP surgeries.
The new GP contract also includes a commitment to support patients with severe obesity, with GPs helping those affected access weight loss programmes and jabs – backed by £25m in funding.
Other notable measures in the contact include incentives for GPs to provide immunisations, protecting children from deadly viruses, and improved lung cancer referrals via a data sharing agreement with the Lung Cancer Screening Programme.
Jen Craft, MP for Thurrock, said:
“Everyone in Thurrock knows how difficult it can be to get a last-minute GP appointment when you need one.
“Today’s announcement should make that process a lot easier, giving our local surgeries the support they need to deliver urgent care.
“I’ve been very clear that GP access is a real concern for our area, so it’s great to see Government Ministers making good on their promises to take action.”
