Lib Dems announce five year plan to give patients in the area covering Lichfield, Burntwood and the villages right to see a GP within a week
- A five year plan to give patients in the area covering Lichfield, Burntwood and the villages a right to see their GP within a week or 24-hours if in urgent need will be in the Liberal Democrat General Election manifesto.
- Paul Ray the Liberal Democrat candidate in the General Election has said that this Conservative government had “abandoned local health services” and has called for a “fair deal for this community’s patients”
Last year there were 186,388 appointments that took over two weeks in our area, equating to 16% of appointments. This included a staggering 48,012 which took longer than a month, 4.1% of all appointments.
The number of disturbingly long waits in our area has been getting worse. In 2022, there were 158,833 over two weeks, or 14.2% of all appointments. Last year this shot up drastically to 186,388 or 16% of all appointments.
The Liberal Democrats have said that under their plans, patients will no longer be left waiting for an appointment and risk their conditions getting worse.
The party will deliver the plan by:
- Increasing the number of full-time equivalent GPs by 8,000, half by boosting recruitment and half from retaining more experienced GPs.
- Freeing up GPs’ time by giving more prescribing rights and public health advisory services to qualified pharmacists, nurse practitioners and paramedics.
- Introducing a universal 24/7 GP booking system.
- Removing top-down bureaucracy to let practices hire the staff they need and invest in training.
Paul Ray, the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Lichfield constituency says:
“We know too well how difficult it is to see a GP in our own area. This Conservative government has driven our area’s local health services into the ground. Thousands of patients in our area are facing agonisingly long waits, often in terrible pain whilst waiting to see their GP.
“It should not be too much to ask for patients to be able to see their GP when they need to. That is why the Liberal Democrats have committed to a fair deal for this community’s patients and legal right to see a GP within a week.”