BROMSGROVE’s parliamentary representative has written to local NHS chiefs urging them to increase the number of GP appointments in the district.
In a letter to Simon Trickett, chief executive of NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire, Bromsgrove MP Bradley Thomas acknowledged the challenges some patients are having accessing GP appointments.
Mr Thomas has therefore urged the NHS to increase the number of GP appointments in his constituency. This forms part of his plan for the district which has particular emphasis on access to doctors appointments for his constituents.
Bradley said: “Under the last Government, which delivered record funding for our NHS, progress was made to improve access to GP appointments, both face-to-face and virtually.
“However, I fully recognise that it remains challenging for many of my constituents to access GP appointments.
“In light of this, I’ve written to the Chief Executive of NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire to urge him to increase the number of appointments available in Bromsgrove and the Villages.
“I’m determined to deliver on the promise I’ve made to my constituents to campaign for better local GP access and this step I’m taking is part of that work.”
Simon Trickett says the results from the latest national patient survey show us that locally Bromsgrove has some of the best primary care provision in the country.
Responses to the GP Patient Survey published by NHS England with Ipsos ranked overall positive experiences between 74.4 per cent at Davenhal House Surgery and 95.6 per cent at the Glebeland Surgery.
Comparatively, 73.9 per cent of patients who took part in the survey nationally had a good overall experience of their GP practice.
He added: “However, I do recognise that there is always more that can be done, and in some areas patients can still find it a struggle to access GP appointments.
“As part of our winter plan, we’ve therefore added nearly 7,000 additional appointments for Bromsgrove residents to access over the coming year.”
