RCGP welcomes new Health Secretary

Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown, President of the Royal College of GPs, said: “We welcome the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to her post and look forward to working with her to tackle the challenges facing general practice and improve care for patients.

"General practice delivers the vast majority of patient contacts across the NHS, despite receiving the lowest share of NHS funding in a decade. Yet while demand for our services has risen significantly, the GP workforce has not kept pace. There are now around 2,300 patients for every fully qualified full-time equivalent GP in England - a 13% increase since 2015. This is placing enormous pressure on GPs and our teams, making it harder for patients to access timely care.

"The Government has rightly recognised in its 10 Year Health Plan the need to shift more care from hospitals into communities, and the College strongly supports that ambition. But this cannot mean expecting general practice to deliver more with the same resources. If care moves into the community, the funding and workforce to provide that care must move with it.

"Investing in general practice – and ensuring we have enough GPs to meet patients' needs – is one of the most effective ways to strengthen the NHS. It means more people receiving care earlier, closer to home, helping to prevent illness from becoming more serious while reducing avoidable pressure on hospitals and other overstretched parts of the health service.

"The new Secretary of State has an important opportunity to put general practice at the heart of the Government's plans for the NHS. Publishing the long-awaited 10 Year Workforce Plan should be an early priority, with a clear focus on recruiting, retaining and supporting the GPs needed to improve access, strengthen continuity of care and deliver high-quality care closer to home. The College looks forward to working with her to help make that ambition a reality."

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659

press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.