Over recent weeks, an unacceptable number of my constituents have got in touch with me with their concerns about access to GP services locally. I’m keen to understand more about the issues at the heart of this and I am grateful to all those that have taken the time to get in touch with me about their experiences, which I am highlighting proactively to the various surgeries and to NHS Northamptonshire Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS England. I’ve already spoken with the Chief Executive of the CCG and am getting a date in the diary to meet with Lakeside Healthcare too, who have kindly invited me along to discuss these concerns.
As I’ve said in the TV and radio interviews I’ve done over recent days, this is not about apportioning blame and finger pointing - it’s about constructively working through the issues and ensuring the changes necessary are made so that local people can get the medical care they need, when they need it. I’ve no doubt that as we emerge from the pandemic, that is inevitably leading to heightened demand as people perhaps seek care for conditions that they have suffered with for some months through fear of COVID-19. And I am also mindful that technology clearly has a role to play going forward, as we have learnt much from the pandemic and for some it is arguably more convenient. But ultimately, people must be able to see their GP if they need to do so. With that in mind, I will continue to provide updates across my social media pages and hope we can get to the bottom of this quickly and I will press our NHS leaders and GP surgeries to make any changes necessary as a result. As I say, I am hugely grateful to all those who have been in touch with their experiences.
to discuss these concerns.