Public 'Should Question' Promises On GP Access

Pledges by Labour and the Conservatives to improve patient access to GP appointments are unlikely to be met in the next five years, independent researchers have warned.

Both parties have promised to increase the number of GPs in the next parliamentary term to make it easier for patients to see a doctor and reduce the number of people going to A&E as an alternative.

But researchers at Imperial College London say the pledges may prove unrealistic and that the "public should question the promises of politicians".

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Thomas Cowling, the lead researcher, told Sky News there are not enough GPs in training to deliver the promises.

"I think the public should question the pledges of politicians. Several of them aren't backed up by evidence that they will work or are even feasible," he said.

The Conservatives have promised to recruit 5,000 more GPs and ensure that surgeries are open between 8am and 8pm, seven days a week.

Labour have said they will increase the number of GPs by 8,000 and guaranteed an appointment within 48 hours.

But the researchers warn in the British Medical Journal that while pilot studies have been carried out to test the Tories' longer opening hours, an independent evaluation has yet to be published.

They say Labour fell short of its 48-hour appointment guarantee when it was last in power - with just 81% of patients seeing their GP on time.

"Politicians could be creating expectations that are very likely to fail and patients could be disappointed," he said.

The British Medical Association has been urging politicians to have an honest debate about the NHS.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the BMA's GP Committee, said: "It is disappointing that despite the promises made at the start of the General Election campaign, politicians are continuing to play games with the future of GP services rather than working on long-term solutions to the challenges facing patient care."

Labour's Andy Burnham said increasing the number of GPs would "be a challenge", but that improving access to appointments was a priority for the party.

"We've done it before, we will do it again," he said.

"Labour put the money into primary care last time and that's where we now need to go again to put general practice back on its feet."

A Conservative party spokesman said the party had already begun to meet its pledge for better GP access.

"(Some) 7.5 million people can already see a GP in the evening and at weekends, which will become 18 million people by next March - allowing us to roll this out to the whole country by 2020," he said.