Yahoo News Keir Starmer in Leicestershire: We asked the Labour leader how he would improve NHS services for residents
Sir Keir Starmer was in Coalville today as part of his General Election campaign, and we took the opportunity to ask him about his plans for the NHS. The Labour leader, along with Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting and local candidate Amanda Hack, was visiting Long Lane Surgery in Coalville this morning as the party set out its proposals for improving access to GPs.
He spoke to staff and patients at the surgery. All raised their frustrations with the current system for doctors surgeries. Patients told the Labour leader of their struggles when it came to getting appointments, saying if they phone a minute too early they cannot get through, and if they are five minutes late in calling, the appointments are gone.
The party today announced it would “end the 8am scramble for GP appointments” by taking steps such as training thousands more GPs, updating the NHS App so patients can easily book and rearrange appointments and bringing back the family doctor, so patients can see the same GP each appointment if they choose. It also said it would trial new Neighbourhood Health Centres, which the party says “will bring together family doctors, physiotherapists, mental health specialists, dentists, district nurses, care workers, and health visitors all under one roof”.
READ MORE: Tell us your key issues in Leicestershire ahead of the general election
While access to GPs is a problem across the country, LeicestershireLive is often contacted by people who feel they are not getting the standard of care they need. We asked Sir Keir what the Labour Party would do to improve the quality of care in addition to improving access to it if it wins the election next week.
He said: “For some patients, they do want to know they're going to get the GP they're familiar with. That there's what we might call the family GP and we intend to make sure that as we change and get rid of the eight o'clock scramble that we also make family doctors available for those people who need it or want it.
“That won't be everybody, but for some people, it's very important because it gives them confidence, means they don't have to go over reciting everything that may be wrong with them over and over again. So you can see why that really matters.
“But also making much better use of the doctors that we've got because there's too much form filling in, too much red tape, which means they're not able to spend the time that they would want to spend in relation to the care that they want to give.”
Ms Hack also said it was important for residents in North West Leicestershire to be able to access all levels of care locally. She spoke of a Coalville resident who told her they had had to travel to Market Harborough Cottage Hospital for treatment, saying it was “really difficult for the family to manage” and impacted on the resident’s recovery.
She added: “We're a long way from the hospitals here. What [patients] need is that care as locally as possible in the spaces that suit them, and that's when care will improve. So we have to look at patient care all the way through the system.”
It is not just primary care which is struggling, however. Our local hospitals consistently perform below average and below target when it comes to wait times in both urgent and elective care. We asked Sir Keir how his Government would solve this crisis if it takes power.
The Labour leader said their plan to create 40,000 additional appointments in hospitals a week would help “get the NHS back on its feet”. He added: “And that's why we've set out the 40,000 extra appointments every week as one of the first steps of an incoming Labour Government.
“So that will be what we're rolling up our sleeves and getting on with on the first day if we're privileged enough to come, and that takes some of the pressure away [from the NHS]. It's addition, of course, to ending the scramble for GPS, which is a different problem but cumulative. [It’s] about getting the NHS back on its feet and then going the next step, which is to make sure the is fit for the future.”
