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Family Doctor Services

I beg to move, To leave out from ““House”” to the end of the Question, and to add instead thereof:"““welcomes the fact that the Government is providing £250 million, in addition to existing GP services, for 152 new state-of-the-art GP-led health centres open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week; notes that these will offer a wide range of health services including prebookable GP appointments and walk-in services; further notes that where patients previously had trouble seeing their GP or had to make numerous visits to a variety of health professionals, they will now be able to see a doctor more quickly, collect their prescriptions, get their eyes tested, have a variety of diagnostic tests or see a physiotherapist in the same building and at times convenient to the patient; further welcomes the additional centrally funded 100 GP practices to be located in the most deprived areas which will have a strong focus on promoting health and reducing inequalities; acknowledges the landmark agreement with GPs to extend surgery hours in evenings and on Saturdays and agrees that extended access will benefit hardworking families; further welcomes the extension of the role of pharmacies to be able to prescribe for and deal with minor ailments on the NHS, as well as promoting good health, supporting those with long-term conditions and preventing illnesses through additional screening and advice; recognises that the Government is on the side of patients; and agrees that extending access to GP services through extended hours and new GP health centres can have a real impact on health inequalities.””" I am delighted that the Conservatives have used this Opposition Day debate to allow us to highlight the investment that we are making in primary care and the measures that we are taking to give the public better access to the improved services that they require. Also, it is very good of the Conservatives to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the NHS by seeking to recreate the historical position of the Conservative party in 1948—opposed to better services for patients, defending instead the narrow vested interests of the more reactionary elements of the profession. I guess we could call it a sort of parliamentary version of the television programme, ““Casualty 1907””. Making sure that every citizen has access, free of charge, to a local GP if they are sick or worried about their health was the major premise on which the NHS was established, by a Labour Government in the face of fierce opposition from the Conservative party and its allies in the profession 60 years ago—it is really good to commemorate that in this anniversary year. We continue to support that premise. The role of the general practitioner as provider and commissioner of care, and as a strong advocate for their patients' health and well-being, is central to everything that we are doing. It is why we have made an unparalleled investment in GP services, from £3 billion in 1997 to £8 billion today. It is why there are now 5,318 more GPs and 4,471 more practice nurses than there were in 1997. It is why GPs now spend, on average, 50 per cent. more time with each patient than they did in the 1990s. And it is why we have increased the pay and reduced the hours of GPs, thus resolving a serious recruitment problem, while introducing a quality and outcomes framework regarded with admiration around the world, which helps to make GPs central to the care of people with long-term conditions, achieving documented improvements in health outcomes for conditions such as asthma and diabetes. The Tory motion describes all of that as ““undermining and undervaluing…GPs””. I can think of lots of professions that would love to be undermined and undervalued in such a way.