Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Mark Todd (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 7 March 2006 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Access to GPs

Question: The preface to that answer made me think that Sir Nigel was taking a personal interest in South Derbyshire, and I was saddened by the announcement. How adequate does my right hon. Friend think are the tools to deal with rapid population growth, such as the Swadlincote area has experienced over the past 10 years? There has been a predictable increase in demand for primary care, and many of my roughly 10,000 extra constituents concentrated around Swadlincote often struggle to get registered with a GP. Relying on a local improvement finance trust scheme to deliver that service means that they face a very long wait.

Answer: I understand my hon. Friend's concerns and I am glad to say that in the allocations that we have made and announced for the next two years for primary care trusts we take account as far as we possibly can of anticipated as well as previous population growth. He refers to the new health and social care facilities at Swadlincote, and they will be an enormous improvement in the facilities that are offered to his constituents. I am sure that the local primary care trust, with the additional funding that it will continue to receive over the next few years, will do everything possible to go on improving services for his constituents, as we have been doing.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 443 c708
Session: 2005-06
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Access Administrative delays General practitioners Primary care Derbyshire Registration Population Crisp, Lord NHS Retirement
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk